If LED bulbs are supposed to last for 10 years, why do I still need to replace them every 9 months?

I've never replaced an led bulb and I've had them 10+ years.

Dirty power can burn them out, as can bad heat dissipation

There are a few reasons it could be happening so I'll start with some the most common

If your switches are dimmer switches and you're not using dimmer bulbs they burn out faster

If your light fixtures are sealed you need to get bulbs that are compatible with sealed fixtures

Make sure you're getting quality bulbs as lower quality bulbs will die faster

If your area has less than stable power your bulbs will burn out faster, though higher quality dimmer compatible bulbs will handle the less stable power better (you don't need a dimmer compatible light fixture to use dimmer bulbs)

I use GE Reveal HD+ bulbs in my fixtures (basic apartment sealed domes) and they just keep on keeping on and they're really color accurate.

I started with store brand LED bulbs and they just kept burning out and the color accuracy would be best described as vague at best. Not to mention they'd burn out pretty much every year when the storms would roll in and my power would get flaky.

Heat is the main killer of LED bulbs. The Hook Up on YouTube did a comparison of several different bulbs and his investigation showed that filament style LED bulbs like the Phillips Ultra Definition ($3.50 per bulb) have a lower peak temp by like 80 degrees Fahrenheit than the standard style (12-24 LEDs in a ring). I recommend trying those out and seeing if you have better luck.

They get too hot and the 0.07$ capacitor they put in it dries out and dies. You want the 0.09$ capacitor which lasts 1000 times longer, but usually they only put those in the 45$ led bulbs.

You can do like me, when they die, take them apart and replace the capacitor with a super deluxe 0.11$ one !

Either an electrical problem that's burning them out or shitty bulbs.

If you have a dimmer switch, you have to get dimmer compatible bulbs.

Bet would be a combo of cheapest you could buy and unstable power.

It's either the wiring in your house or the light fixtures or both.. If I remember right older light fixtures, like before the last 15 years, don't have the right type of power regulation and it kills LEDs quick. Source: Not an expert just have the same problem in my place.

Your bulbs might be burning out because of overheating. These bulbs have their powersupply in the bulb screw, so there's no real place for the heat to go. I have a ceiling lamp that causes normal bulbs to reach temperatures as high as 100c, and so they burn out every couple of moths. This might be your issue.
Edit: fixed misspell

I have no idea what you're doing wrong. All the led bulbs I've got are coming up on ten years old and working fine.

You're either buying really shit bulbs or you've got shit power. Probably the latter.

16 years ago, when I moved into a new apartment, I bought a 4 pack of colour changing led light globes. I liked them so much, I ended up replacing all of the remaining globes in the apartment with white only versions when they became available.

About 7 years in, 2 of them started having problems, so I replaced them. The other 2, along with the others I bought along the way are still going strong. I took them with me when I moved out of that apartment and put back the globes that the apartment had when I first moved in.

My current place has all the globes I bought, along with some my roommate had from the same timeframe. He never had any problem globes.

Now, these globes weren’t cheap, but I think that’s the point. Light globes don’t burn out like they used to, but if you buy the cheapest piece of crap you can find, you’re gonna get… well, the cheapest piece of crap.

As for your power usage, I suggest you look elsewhere. Even the crappiest led light will use less power than practically everything else.

I’ve never had an LED bulb go bad. Even those that sit in a drawer or box for years at a time.

Bad design. These bulbs often run supper hot, resulting in premature failure from electromigration and similar. Some manufacturers are better about this then others, so try another one. Filament style bulbs also tend to run colder, and last a lot longer. (But they flicker and play badly with dimmers)

This is a really interesting article on lightbulbs, which have a pretty conspiratorial past: https://interestingengineering.com/science/everlasting-lightbulbs-exist-ed

Did you know that a secret meeting was held in Geneva in 1924 between lightbulb manufacturers that lead to the formation of the 'Pheobus Cartel'?

"The main objective of this cartel was to agree to control the supply of light bulbs. Each understood that if any one of them managed to develop a long-lasting light bulb, the need for replacement bulbs would likely dry up.

Bulbs were lasting too long. Not ideal from their point of view.

So, to combat this, all members of the cartel agreed to reduce the lifespan of bulbs on purpose. Initially, this was set to no more than 1,000 hours!"

The longest-lasting lightbulb was first turned on it 1901 and is still shining.

EDIT: Seems this is a myth, see replies for more information!

LEDs run on DC power, not AC like regular bulbs; therefore there is a power supply inside that converts and regulates the power.

The two most common failures in LED systems is shitty power supplies dying prematurely, either because of heat or because of just crappy cheap hardware, or the design is wrong which overcurrents the LEDs which kills it.

I remember my uncle had all the lighting in his kitchen changed to LED with a fancy light, it was bright and really nice, but the power supply died (I tested it by switching the PSU between the units, all the LEDs were fine, just the power supplies sucked). I couldn't find a replacement for the same serial number, so I put another PSU from a different brand I got on eBay and it was fine. The original PSUs were all dead within the first 4 years, the aftermarket ones are all still fine 6 years later.

Obviously for these lightbulbs, this is a bit harder to do since they are all in one, so it's probably a good idea to get higher quality bulbs. I am not an expert, but I really like the Philips ones I have right now that are rated for 50000 hours (though they are relatively new, only bought them this year, so I can't say much about their reliability).

TL;DR: Not all LEDs are created equal.

where are you people buying your bulbs, i have not touched onein a year at least

The first few generations of led bulbs last longer. I have tons that are still going and no noticable loss in brightness even though the packaging said to expect that in place of burning out. Now there are a lot of shit tier ones mixed in. As others have mentioned there are also a number of specific compatibility problems too.

I've heard the explanation that they don't dissipate heat well and their lives are shortened because of the fixture they're placed in. With incandescent bulbs, heat wasn't the issue it is with LEDs.

What are you on about? I've switched to LED bulbs about 10 years ago, and I've never had to replace a single one...

The bulbs generally contain around 10 LEDs arranged in series, so if any one of them fails, the bulb no longer works. Also they are generally not cooled well, and the heat leads to faster failures.

If you have a dead one around, pry it open and you'll likely see some slightly charred or discolored plastic and also one LED with a tiny charred spot.

Seems like it would be easy enough to mitigate both of those problems with basic design improvements, but cheap design causing early failure is sort of a win/win from the mfg perspective.

Two factors, quality and heat. If you buy bad quality they will last a short time. If the fixture is not designed to dissipate heat it will last less time. I found out the last one for a couple of mine. The ceiling lights with a shade kinda of a bowl like. The LEDs ones lasted less than a year. Then one of them I didn't find the nut for it and put some other one that didn't fit quite well but let the air flow and that one outlasted the other ones. Yes heat will kill your LEDs.

Brownouts, even ones so minor the human eye can't see, are killers to electronics. Learned that decades ago when I got my first computer (C-64) and had to return a few before we figured out it was bad power. Building code ought to include protection within the main breaker box. Maybe in some places they have such a thing.

Pay for on brand bulbs they last waaaay longer

https://youtu.be/klaJqofCsu4

for the same reason diablo canyon 2 can't be more like diablo canyon 1

I usually buy the ones from IKEA and they last at least a few years.

Programmed obsolescense, the bulbs in my bathroom have to be replaced after 1 or 2 months which is pure torture, however i have 3 LED bulbs i have been using for more than 3 years without problem, i also have a CFL one that has been working since 2013, however it doesn't put out a lot of light sadly so it's just sitting in a drawer rn.

The only LED bulbs I've replaced had failed within a few months of purchase, the rest have lasted almost a decade now 👌

I also have a incandescent bulb on a smart switch for my bedroom, it's seen A LOT of on/off cycles over the past 5/6 years but is still going strong. I dread replacing it when it fails, as the manufacturer is no longer in business...

As if LED lightbulbs from non capitalist countries last any longer. All centralized systems exploit their power.