On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:22:57 -0800, Bill
wrote:

In article , says...

In another thread, it was mentioned that CFLs and LEDs
last longer than incandescent bulbs.

We all know incandescent bulbs fail due to the filaments
being made so thin that they oxidize and burn up, over time.

But, what causes CFL bulbs to fail?

And, what causes LED bulbs to fail?

Greed on the part of the manufacturers (for all light bulbs which do not
last long). The bulb burns out, you buy a new one and they make more
money!

This bulb has worked for over 110 years...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light
On both CFL: and LED the drive electronics are more likely to fail
suddenly than the lamps themselves. Both LED and CFL loose output
slowly with age - both use phosphours to create the visible white
light, and those phosphours deteriorate with use (photon production)