with or without silicon in driver of LED Light?

[Caroline-Wilson]

I am going to buy some E27 LED retrofit lamp to replace old bulbs of my garden lamps.
Some brands I am thinking about: GOOD LIGHT, SLT-TECH, GE..
But their IP rated are different, over IP65 is my first choice in case the glass housing is broken the water comes in...
Then I read an artical is about silicon, advantage or disadvantage of silicon in power supplies and LED drivers..
It says silicon is not good for heat dissipation nor maintenance..
So what should i buy? seems IP65 is not a must for me after all..but in case??

Thx...
CW

 

[Alec_t]

Welcome to EP.
I would have thought the silicon issue was insignificant compared to the corrosion damage to circuit tracks, wire terminations etc caused by water ingress. For garden lamps, I say go for the highest IP rating you can find/afford.

 

[Audioguru]

Most of my cheap Chinese solar garden lights lasted only a couple of months because they were poorly sealed so I sealed them. Then the poor quality Ni-Cad batteries and LEDs rust away in a few months due to condensation.
I have replaced the batteries with modern Ni-MH in stainless steel cases and new LEDs with high quality parts and now the lights last for years.