How long should I expect my Radion to last before I need to replace it?

Daniel@R2R · Jun 14, 2021

I know. I'm one of the weirdos who hasn't upgraded his LEDs to the newest ones out... I've got a Radion Gen1 that I upgraded to the Gen3 pucks a few years ago, and I'm wondering how long I should expect it to last before I need to be thinking about replacements? Also, should I expect gradual PAR decrease, or would the diodes just burn out when they're done?

Btw, I do still love my radions. I just am wondering at what point I need to expect to retire them and how I'll know what that looks like.

@Dana Riddle @Tim at EcoTech #lightinggurus

Brian_68 · Jun 14, 2021

It probably depends on how many years ago they were replaced. The Gen3 came out early 2014 so at this point I would not use one at this point as I would not trust the spectrum loss, plus intensity drop. I replaced my LEDs around 5 years and did not realize the difference until the new one arrived. They sure did drop over that time. Sure they say LEDs last many hours before they drop to 70% output but I am not sure I believe them and it also depends on the design / temp they run at and heat sink performance. If designed correctly they drop in intensity over time, not burn out.

Daniel@R2R · Jun 14, 2021

My upgrade was done about 5 years ago...

hart24601 · Jun 14, 2021

Heck that’s pretty impressive your gen1s are still going just with the upgraded pucks! Sorry that is old enough I can’t answer how much longer you will get but I do see the old AIs still in use from time to time.

Acros · Jun 14, 2021

Can you replace the pucks with new gen3 pucks and have 100% performance?

Daniel@R2R · Jun 14, 2021

jamesdomini4 said:
Can you replace the pucks with new gen3 pucks and have 100% performance?

Not sure on that. Maybe @Tim at EcoTech could tell us if that's an option.

ReefRondo · Jun 14, 2021

Only way to tell would be a par meter I guess?

Daniel@R2R · Jun 14, 2021

ReefRondo said:
Only way to tell would be a par meter I guess?

I just bought a PAR meter this weekend. It should be here this week sometime.

I'm definitely planning to check everything. I bought an AquaticLife T5 Hybrid fixture not too long ago, so I want to see what PAR I'm getting with and without the T5s.

piranhaman00 · Jun 14, 2021

This is why I don’t understand the argument of T5 vs led for bulb savings, leds go out in 5 years

Thaxxx · Jun 14, 2021

piranhaman00 said:
This is why I don’t understand the argument of T5 vs led for bulb savings, leds go out in 5 years

And.....
You end up supplementing with t5's
$$$$

HomebroodExotics · Jun 14, 2021

800 dollar radion leds only last 5 years! Holy smokes I got 40 dollar nicrews that going on 3 and there’s no change. That’s some poor quality…

Lokipsl · Jun 14, 2021

I still have a pair of gen2 pros that I use. I do have a UV led that went out on one fixture but other than that they are doing pretty good

hart24601 · Jun 14, 2021

piranhaman00 said:
This is why I don’t understand the argument of T5 vs led for bulb savings, leds go out in 5 years

Aren’t these gen 1 that he upgraded 5 years ago? And they are still running fine? If gen 1 then the base hardware is 7-10 year old. That’s pretty dang solid.

Brian_68 · Jun 14, 2021

Daniel@R2R said:
I just bought a PAR meter this weekend. It should be here this week sometime. I'm definitely planning to check everything. I bought an AquaticLife T5 Hybrid fixture not too long ago, so I want to see what PAR I'm getting with and without the T5s.

A par meter will not give you an idea of how much the spectrum changed over time, which LEDs do as well in various degrees depending on the specs. For me the whites looked more warm to me over time.

Dana Riddle · Jun 14, 2021

Daniel@R2R said:
I know. I'm one of the weirdos who hasn't upgraded his LEDs to the newest ones out... I've got a Radion Gen1 that I upgraded to the Gen3 pucks a few years ago, and I'm wondering how long I should expect it to last before I need to be thinking about replacements? Also, should I expect gradual PAR decrease, or would the diodes just burn out when they're done?

Btw, I do still love my radions. I just am wondering at what point I need to expect to retire them and how I'll know what that looks like.

@Dana Riddle @Tim at EcoTech #lightinggurus

Useful life of LED luminous flux is often cited as when it reaches 70%, which is more common than sudden, complete failure. Reduction of luminous flux can be caused by heat, drive current, and humidity, causing yellowing of the optics (which lessens transmission of blue light.) Other chromaticity shifts reported include shift to blue (due to phosphor changes), yellow shifts (lens oxidation, phosphor efficiency), green shift (phosphor oxidation, reduction in red emissions) and red shift (shifts in green and red emissions). High temps can cause phosphors to settle, curl, delaminate which causes reduction in photon emissions. If heat and humidity are well-controlled, it is not unreasonable to expect a LED luminaire to provide years of service. If PAR is the only concern, use of a quality quantum meter (Apogee) will tell the tale (and possibly report PAR loss due to extreme spectral shifts.) Spectral shifts are best reported by a spectrometer, although a Seneye device could possibly 'see' them. As usual, no pat answer as to useful LED life. It depends.