Editing Light-emitting diode (section)

===Reliability===
* Shock resistance: LEDs, being solid-state components, are difficult to damage with external shock, unlike fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, which are fragile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.larsonelectronics.com/a-5-led-light-bars-for-off-road-illumination.aspx|title=LED Light Bars For Off Road Illumination|website=Larson Electronics}}</ref>
* Thermal runaway: Parallel strings of LEDs will not share current evenly due to the manufacturing tolerances in their forward voltage. Running two or more strings from a single current source may result in LED failure as the devices warm up. If forward voltage binning is not possible, a circuit is required to ensure even distribution of current between parallel strands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/print/volume-6/issue-2/features/led-design-forum-avoiding-thermal-runaway-when-driving-multiple-led-strings-magazine.html |title=LED Design Forum: Avoiding thermal runaway when driving multiple LED strings |work=LEDs Magazine |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=17 January 2019 }}</ref>
* Slow failure: LEDs mainly fail by dimming over time, rather than the abrupt failure of incandescent bulbs.<ref name=eere>{{cite web|url=http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/lifetime.html |title=Lifetime of White LEDs |access-date=2009-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410145015/http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/lifetime.html |archive-date=April 10, 2009 |df=mdy }}, US Department of Energy</ref>
* Lifetime: LEDs can have a relatively long useful life. One report estimates 35,000 to 50,000 hours of useful life for white LEDs, though time to complete failure may be shorter or longer.<ref>[http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/lifetime_white_leds_aug16_r1.pdf Lifetime of White LEDs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528075610/http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/lifetime_white_leds_aug16_r1.pdf |date=May 28, 2016 }}. US Department of Energy. (PDF). Retrieved on March 16, 2012.</ref> Fluorescent tubes typically are rated at about 10,000 to 25,000 hours, depending partly on the conditions of use, and incandescent light bulbs at 1,000 to 2,000 hours. Several [[United States Department of Energy|DOE]] demonstrations have shown that reduced maintenance costs from this extended lifetime, rather than energy savings, is the primary factor in determining the payback period for an LED product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://energy.ltgovernors.com/in-depth-advantages-of-led-lighting.html|title=In depth: Advantages of LED Lighting|website=energy.ltgovernors.com|access-date=July 27, 2012|archive-date=November 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114184333/http://energy.ltgovernors.com/in-depth-advantages-of-led-lighting.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Cycling: LEDs are ideal for uses subject to frequent on-off cycling, unlike incandescent and fluorescent lamps that fail faster when cycled often, or [[high-intensity discharge lamp]]s (HID lamps) that require a long time to warm up to full output and to cool down before they can be lighted again if they are being restarted.
* Temperature dependence: LED performance largely depends on the ambient temperature of the operating environment&nbsp;– or thermal management properties. Overdriving an LED in high ambient temperatures may result in overheating the LED package, eventually leading to device failure. An adequate [[heat sink]] is needed to maintain long life. This is especially important in automotive, medical, and military uses where devices must operate over a wide range of temperatures, and require low failure rates.