Uh-oh: LED Light bulbs may last too long. Homeowners love them: they use less electricity than any light before and last almost forever.
But now it turns out that's becoming a problem.
Been to the home improvement store lately? Old incandescent bulbs are all but gone, and even those squiggly CFL's are being phased out. In their place: Energy efficient, long lasting LED (light emitting diode) bulbs.
Some claim they can last 20 years.
But a new report in The New Yorker says manufacturers worry those long life spans could put them out of business in a few years, and some are already considering building in an expiration date. So they would burn out, and you will need another.
And from the doesn't that stink file, why planned obsolescence in LED light bulbs would not be a surprise. The New Yorker says early incandescent light bulbs lasted decades, so manufacturers made the filaments thinner so bulbs would burn out in a year or two, and consumers would have to open their wallets again. Doesn't that stink?
There's a bulb in a California firehouse that is 100 years old, and it still works. The company that made it? No longer around, because its bulbs lasted too long.
Bottom line: This is a great time to buy LED bulbs. Prices have finally come down, and they last almost forever -- for now at least.
So don't waste your money.
