led underwater lights are designed for underwater environments, which may cause a series of problems if used on land for a long time. However, we still have some clients coming to us ask the question: can we use underwater lights for long-term lighting on land ? the answer is absolutely NO! Underwater lighting can not use for long-term on land mainly because of 4 reasons:
1.Heat dissipation design does not match, resulting in overheating damage:
-Underwater environment: Water has high thermal conductivity and can quickly carry away the heat of the lamp, usually without additional radiators
-Land environment: the heat conduction efficiency of air is only 1/25 of that of water, and the heat dissipation capacity of lamps is greatly reduced, and long-term operation will lead to:
A)LED light decay is accelerated (junction temperature increases by 10 ℃, life is halved)
B)Power drive overheating (electrolytic capacitor dry, MOS tube burned)
C)Shell deformation or sealant aging (silica gel embrittlement at high temperature, waterproof failure)
2.The waterproof structure impedes heat dissipation: the underwater led lights adopt a fully sealed design (IP68), which relies on the passive heat dissipation of the shell, and the heat can not be effectively dissipated when the land is used
3.Acceleration of material aging :
-Underwater environment: constant temperature, decrease ultraviolet (UV) irradiation.
-Terrestrial environment:
Ultraviolet radiation: Causes the plastic casing to become brittle and the color to fade
Temperature difference between day and night: thermal expansion and cold contraction make the sealant crack and waterproof failure
4.The power driver is not compatible : low voltage underwater lights drives are usually designed for constant current output, but high land temperatures can trigger overtemperature protection, resulting in stroboscope or power outages
If the consumers insist to use the waterproof underwater lights on land for long-term, it may caused the below potential consequences:
1.LED chip damage: Luminous flux decreased by more than 30%, color temperature drift (such as 6000K→5500K)
2.Power drive failure: Capacitor bulge, IC burn, luminaires flicker or completely fail
3.Structural failure: Sealant cracking, water, short circuit risk increased
4.Security risk: The high temperature of the underwater pool light shell (> 80 ℃) may burn users or ignite surrounding materials.
Now you can understand why the ip68 led underwater light can not long-term use on land ? of course, if we make some change, it can achive long time on land using,contact us to get more details ~
Post time: Jun-25-2025