How Long Can LED Lights Stay On? Let’s Find Out!

LED lights have been around for a long time and are known to be an environmental-friendly alternative to traditional incandescent light bulbs. Besides being more energy-efficient, LED lights are also more cost-effective and come in various colors.  Longer lifespan, energy efficiency, no UV emission, low-voltage operation, etc., are a few reasons why LED lights took over almost everybody’s life. 

When the world was shifting from incandescent bulbs to LED lights, my cousin was still not ready to change the lights of her house. However, a few months ago, I had major success convincing her to get rid of her old-age lights and replace them with LED lights. Ever since, she has been pretty happy about the decision and happily reaches out to me in case of any issue. And the great part, she even directs her girlfriends’ queries to me. For example, two days ago, she forgot to turn off her living room LED lights and left for an overnight camp. Upon realizing this, she obviously called me to ask, ‘is it safe to leave LED lights on all night?’ 

Considering the hustle-bustle of urban life, it is common to miss out on trivial tasks like turning off the LED lights. In such cases, having doubts like ‘do LED lights get hot enough to catch fire’ and ‘is it ok to leave LED lights on all night’ are apparent. After all, having used incandescent lights for ages, we are still getting familiar with how LED lights work. 

To put it straightforwardly, you can leave your LED lights on all night as LED lights can stay on for a long time. If your primary concern is whether LED strip lights can start a fire due to overheating, let me tell you that LED lights generate significantly less heat and do not pose any fire threat. LED lights are also cost-efficient and have a diminished carbon footprint.

In this article, we will discuss how it is not unsafe or dangerous to leave your LED lights on for long but before that, let us talk about how LED lights are different from incandescent lights.

How Are LED Lights Different From Incandescent Lights?

Though both LED lights and incandescent lights were invented to illuminate our lives, the functioning of an LED light differs from the traditional incandescent bulbs. Basically, they produce light in different ways. 

While conventional incandescent light bulbs pass electricity through a thin wire filament, LEDs, i.e., Light Emitting Diodes, are made up of a semiconductor that produces light when electricity passes through it. Due to different functioning principles, LED lights are much more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs.

How Long Can LED Lights Stay On?

If your concern is the longevity of LED lights and you are wondering how long can LED lights stay on without burning out, then this section will answer your questions. 

The average lifespan of an LED light is around 35,000-50,000 hours as compared to that of incandescent light, which is about 750-2000 hours. This fact makes an LED light last for about 25-30 years. No, I am not exaggerating! Since LED lights produce much less heat than other bulbs and have a different principle of working, these lights do not burn out that easily. This means LED lights are ideal for extended use; you can leave them on through the night or the vacation.

However, turning off your lights, when not required, increases the longevity of your LED lights and is an informed choice to make environmentally.

Major Concerns Related To Prolonged Use Of LED Lights

There can be several reasons why a user can wonder how long can a light bulb stay on safely. Whether you are worried about an LED light that you left turned on by ignorance or are thinking of leaving an LED light turned on through the night and are skeptical about doing so, your concern may be one of the following.

• Do LED lights overheat to catch fire?
• Do LED lights consume a lot of power and result in a bill shock?
• Do LED lights affect your sleep?

Well, the straightforward answer to all these questions is NO! Let us understand the reasons for the same in detail.

LED Lights Do Not Overheat To Cause Fire

Let us begin with talking about the most common concern people face, i.e., fire. Justified so, nobody wants to witness their smoke detector blinking red light.

In the era when we used incandescent bulbs to illuminate our house, overheating of the bulb causing short circuits or even fire was not rare. But the case is not the same with LED bulbs. Since LED lights function differently than incandescent bulbs, these lights produce much lesser heat. As per the research done by the Centre for Nanoscale Science, LED bulbs are about 90% efficient at converting energy into light, and only 10% of the energy is emitted as heat. Moreover, LEDs lights from reputed brands contain heat sinks to draw the excess heat away from the bulb. Despite this fact, if an LED light overheats, the bulb will simply dim rather than melt or cause any damage. Hence, LED bulbs are safe and ideal for prolonged use.

So, if you have LED lights at your home and are worried about how long can a light bulb stay on safely, the answer is you can leave your LED lights 24X7 without being bothered about them overheating or catching fire. 
However, I do not guarantee this for unrequited and unregulated LED light manufacturers. As long as you’re purchasing your LED lights from a reputed manufacturer like Phillips Hue or Hubbell Lighting, who adhere to product criteria associated with the industry, the overheating of these lights is not a concern.

LED Lights Consume Less Power And Do Not Lead To Bill Shock

Everything modern may not be heavy on your pocket. While LED lights are a modern way to illuminate your space, these lights are environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient as they do not consume much power. If you have replaced your incandescent lights with LED lights, you will notice less power consumption because diode lights are much more power-efficient than filament lights. LED lights consume 75% less energy than incandescent lights. 

All LED Lights Do Not Affect Your Sleep

Years ago, I learned about the effect of different spectra of light on the human body in a Hygge workshop by my Danish teacher. Different colors or wavelengths of light have different effects on our bodies- some good and some bad. Blue LED  lights can cause alertness and sleeplessness, but red LED lights can induce calmness in humans. So, I’d like to state that it is not the LED strip lights that are bad for our eyes, but our lack of understanding of how lights affect us. In-fact I did a full blown article on the same. Check it out here.

Hence it is not the LED light that affects your sleep but the blue component of the LED light. It is noteworthy that our phone screens, laptops, TV screens, etc., also have LED lights on their display. Choosing an LED light with a lower blue component will address this concern for you. 

FAQs

Q1. Can LED lights be left on 24X7?

Answer – Technically, since LED lights emit significantly less heat and are power-efficient, you may leave them on 24X7 when required. However, turning off your LED lights after a few hours of use, when not needed, will enhance your light’s longevity and reduce the planet’s carbon footprints.

Q2. Can you leave LED strip lights on all night?

Answer – LED strip lights do not produce excessive amounts of heat. Therefore, LED strip lights can be left on 24X7. However, I recommend stress-testing your lights before exposing them to prolonged use. Unfortunately, most cheap LED strip lights available in the market are poorly manufactured and may not withstand extended use.

Q3. Are LED lights hotter than halogen lights?

Answer – No, LED lights are way cooler than halogen bulbs as LED lights emit most energy as light, and there is very little energy wastage in the form of heat. On the other hand, Halogen lights end up wasting most of the energy as heat.

Conclusion

If you have illuminated your home with LED lights rather than incandescent lights, you have made a cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly choice. However, if you need to leave your LED light on for a prolonged period or have accidentally left your LED lights on through the night, you must not worry. However, I recommend turning off the light when not in need to reduce the carbon footprint; if absolutely necessary, LED lights can safely stay on 24X7 without any substantial dangerous effects. 

Also, it is not incorrect to say that LED lights outperform their competitors by a significant mile in terms of lifespan. And the most comforting part, LED lights do not overheat to catch fire. Though I do not guarantee this for poorly manufactured LED lights, I strongly advise using the LED lights manufactured by reputed brands.

If you have more questions about LED lights, write to me in the comment section.