Why do my LED bulbs keep failing early?

Because the thing that usually fails in an LED bulb is not the LED. It is the small electronic driver circuit in the base that converts mains voltage to the low DC voltage the diodes need, and that circuit is far more fragile than the advertised 25,000-hour lamp life implies.

Heat is the main killer. LEDs produce less heat than incandescent bulbs but are far less tolerant of it, and the driver's electrolytic capacitors degrade rapidly at high temperature. Anything that traps heat around the base shortens life dramatically — enclosed fittings with no ventilation, recessed downlights buried in insulation, or a bulb fitted upside down in a closed shade so heat rises straight into the electronics. If your failures are concentrated in one enclosed fitting, that is your answer, and bulbs rated for enclosed fixtures are the remedy.

Dimmer incompatibility is the second common cause. Older trailing-edge or leading-edge dimmers designed for incandescent loads can deliver waveforms that stress the driver, producing flicker, buzzing and early failure. The bulb must state it is dimmable, and ideally the dimmer should be an LED-rated one with a minimum load the bulbs actually meet.

Power quality matters too. Frequent switching, voltage spikes and unstable supply all stress the driver. So does simply buying very cheap bulbs, where the driver components are the obvious place to save cost.

One easily missed cause is a loose connection or a worn lampholder, which arcs slightly and damages the bulb.

If bulbs fail repeatedly in one fitting while the rest of the house is fine, suspect the fitting or its wiring rather than the bulbs, and have an electrician check it.