On Mon, 31 Oct 2016 05:54:16 -0400, Meanie wrote:

Lifetime actually depends on usage, though, an actual lifetime will not
be 80 years. It's more a figure of speech.

If the LEDs stay on 24/7, then they may reach 5 years on a 50,000 hr.
claim with that % drop as you stated. If the lamps are used less than 8
hours a day, the life will increase to an average lifetime of 17 years
also including the % drop in the lamp output. Therefore, since a few are
taking my "lifetime" comment literally, that was not my intent. It's
simply a matter of expressing the potential life span of LEDs.

I like this thread.

I didn't know anything about bulb life before this thread, other than I have
never gotten anywhere near what the package says for both incandescent and
fluorescent bulbs, which means I trust LED bulb claims even less.

My "guess", before doing any research, is that LED bulbs last nowhere near
what they say. They probably last five or ten years, at most, is my guess,
not only due to the LED deteriorating over time, but due to the electronics
instantly giving up the ghost at inopportune times.

I'm not saying LEDs are less reliable than the other formats; just that none
of them are reliable.

However, rather than guess, I am now going to google for what the "official"
bulb life rules are, and I'll let you know what I find out.

I'll post a separate thread once I find something out.