How long is a regular light bulb supposed to last on average?

Answer 1

About 9 months to a year. If you buy a CFL (compact flourescent) it'll last a bit longer, 2 to 3 years. If you buy an LED bulb, 10 to 15 years. Also, the longer these bulbs last, the less energy they seem to use. I guess the light that burns twice as bright does burn out twice as fast. But LED bulbs use about 5 to 10 Watts, a CFL uses about 25, and of course a 100w regular bulb, uses....... 100 Watts.

Answer 2

There's a trick about light bulbs -- look on the top of the bulbs for 130 V, instead of 120 V. See, most electric utility company's nowadays supply anywhere from 120 to 125 volts per phase,and as you can see,that's over the rated voltage of 120 V bulbs.
If you get someone to check the voltage in your home,I'm sure you'll find that this is the problem. I'm an Electrician,and I run into this all the time.
Stop buying those 6 for $1.88 bulbs at Walmart, and buy only 130 V bulbs. They cost a little more,but last forever!(almost)

Answer 3

The better quality bulbs will list their estimated life on the package. The figure given assumes that the light bulb has adequate cooling. If the bulb is used in a confined space so that it overheats, it will not last as long. If your bulbs are burning out prematurely and you can't attribute it to overheating, it may be that the voltage is too high in your house. The voltage should be around 120 volts in the US. Check it with a voltmeter; call your power company if it is much higher than that. They will have to change a tap on the transformer servicing your house.

Traffic signals use special light bulbs that are designed for long life. I'm not talking about the new LED lamps, but the older incandescent bulbs. These light bulbs have a more rugged filament, and are rated for a higher voltage like 130 V. These "traffic bulbs" may be hard to find at Home Depot, but are carried by many commercial and industrial supply companies.

Answer 4

You can buy longer lasting bulbs by examining the life average right on most bulb packages. You can also extend the life of ordinary bulbs with this company's products...
http://www.longlite.com/Products/HomeProducts.aspx

All this does is slow the current surge when you first turn the bulb on, like a warm up cycle.

Some company's sell 10,000 hour and up bulbs if you are willing to pay. This site offers these as well.

Worth the expense for those difficult to dangerous lto get at lights atop multi-story stairwells and such.

Answer 5

I think it depends on the bulb and if you are using the correct wattage for the socket you are using (most have a recommended bulb wattage written on it somewhere). I have had bulbs last anywhere from two weeks (dollar store ones) to two or more years. I lived in one place for two years and only had to change one bulb in that entire time and it was cuz the light was always on. I think the average is about 8 months though. According to the GE website most are good for about 1500 hours which equals about 3 months of non stop use.

Answer 6

There should be a number on the package that says just that. However, you can leave a 100 watt lamp on all the time and it will burn for years.

What kills lamps is not burning them, but turning them off and on too much. The lamp/hour life is determined by how many times, on the average, the lamp should be turned off and on.

The only other factor is when you have a ceiling lamp with three 60 watt bulbs in it, heat will cause failure.

Answer 7

I'll assume you are referring to a standard 60-100W incandescent light bulb. There are a lot of different qualities. 1500 hours is rather high and probably refers to a higher grade bulb, rather than the ones that you can buy from Home Depot on sale for 10c each..

Most of them offer life ratings of around 800-1000 hours. I think that's based on 8 hr run periods in a base down orientation.

Answer 8

It all depends on how many watz the bulb is and what kind it is and all that other stuff but on average a light bulb should last if going non stop a month

Answer 9

an incadescent [regular] bulb will last 4 months or so if you use florscent they will last for 5 years or so it all depends on how much you use the bulb and how good the quality of the bulb is

Answer 10

listed below are some arguments FOR fluorescent bulbs: -they use much less electrical energy yet produce the same quantity of sunshine (thereby making them a greater eco-friendly selection by reducing the quantity of CO2 released) -they final longer -they're going to shop you cash bc of those 2 motives against fluorescent bulbs -they're greater good to fabricate bc they're greater complicated than widely used bulbs -they incorporate a dash of mercury that's undesirable for you and the atmosphere (it is going to leak out if the tube is broken) -they don't supply as comfortable of a easy spectrum (incandescent bulbs produce a non-supply up spectrum that's greater organic on the eyes)