Is Your Light Bulb Flickering?
Providing you with light throughout your home, the modern-day light bulb is capable of lighting the dark. Enabling you to avoid stubbing your toes and tripping over tables while stumbling through the dark. When you experience a light bulb flickering and not working efficiently, it can be a sign of underlying issues within your home electrical systems, or simply just a loose bulb.
If you have a light bulb flickering when turned on, or even when turned off, it could be a sign of more serious electrical problems. This is not always the case however, there are a variety of reasons why you may have a light bulb flickering within your home. Safe and Sound Electric experts are here to help you identify common issues that may be causing your light bulb to flicker.
Electricity and You
All of the electrical systems in your home are designed to operate efficiently and smoothly, providing you with dependable electricity throughout your home to all of your appliances, lights, lamps, and electrical devices.
Often when there is an issue within this circuit, it can cause problems in more areas than one. Meaning that a light bulb flickering in one room could be a sign of other problems that may need attention within the electrical systems.
What Does a Flickering Light Bulb Mean?
There is no definitive answer as to why you may be experiencing a flickering light bulb because there are multiple reasons why this may occur. Sometimes it is as simple as tightening the bulb within the socket, while other times you may experience a more serious issue such as a burning smell and smoking.
Does your bulb only flicker when an appliance turns on? Is it a bulb flickering within a lamp? Or perhaps it is a new light bulb flickering. Here to help you troubleshoot some of the common issues that can cause your light bulb to flicker, let us look at some of the most common reasons your light bulb may be flickering.
The Bulb Type
One of the first things you should look at when experiencing a flickering bulb is what type of bulb it is. Depending on the bulb type, some bulbs such as fluorescent bulbs tend to flicker when turned on in a cold room.
Another example is LED bulbs being connected to older dimmer switches. Many older dimmer switches are not compatible with more modern LED bulbs but are instead designed for incandescent or halogen bulbs. Make sure that whatever bulb you are using is compatible with where you have it installed.
Loose Bulb
One of the easiest solutions for a flickering bulb is to check if it is secured properly. A loose bulb may be only receiving partial contact from within the socket, causing it to flicker due to the lack of power being supplied to it.
Simply check that your bulb is snug and secure within the socket. You would be amazed at how often this can occur, thankfully, the solution is as easy as tightening the bulb and securing it properly.
Overloaded Circuits
If your bulb starts to flicker when an appliance turns on, you may be overloading the circuit. Appliances require a lot of power, especially when starting up. The sudden overload to the circuit when starting up an appliance may cause your bulb to flicker due to the sudden surge and overload.
Typically brief flickering is not considered a serious issue, but if you experience the problem all the time, or flickering that lasts for more than just a few seconds, it may be time to upgrade or install new circuits in the area.
Change in Voltage
Designed to fluctuate slightly, the voltage of your home should stay within 115 to 125 volts. Anything outside of this limit could be problematic and require the attention of a professional electrician.
Some typical signs of your homes voltage fluctuating include:
- Lights flickering or becoming dimmer when using large appliances
- Flickering continues after the appliance is off
- The lighting dims at unexpected times
- Burnt out light bulbs happen frequently
- Appliances or electronic devices shutting off or malfunctioning
Loose or Worn Out Wiring
Experiencing a light bulb flickering may be a sign that the wiring delivering power may be loose, worn out, or malfunctioning. Loose wiring can cause your lights to only receive partial power, resulting in them flickering on and off.
So is a flickering light bulb dangerous? Well, if it is due to loose wiring it can cause potential fire hazards and should be addressed by a certified electrician to ensure your safety as well as the safety of your home. This is especially true if you start to notice any burning smell and smoking coming from any of your electrical devices, outlets, lights, switches, or anywhere from your home.
How We Can Resolve Your Light Bulb Flickering
If you are tired of experiencing flickering lights, and just cannot seem to figure out how to get the issue resolved on your own, contact the professionals at Safe and Sound Electric. We can help diagnose your electrical problem and get to the root cause of your light bulb flickering.