A lighting system is provided whereby long operating life can be reasonably ensured by taking into account requirements of the application, characteristics of the LEDs, characteristics of the fixture containing said LEDs, the desired number of operating hours, and—via developed relationships—taking an iterative approach to supplying power to the LEDs. Through the envisioned compensation methodology and effective luminaire design, a relatively constant light level can be assured for a predetermined number of operating hours (possibly longer); this is true even if operating conditions change, known behavior of LEDs proves untrue over untested period of time, or some other condition occurs which would otherwise cause end-of-life prematurely and prevent the system from meeting the desired number of operating hours.