Do you have flickering lights in your home? If so, you might have a simple problem that can be fixed in minutes, or your electrical system may be malfunctioning. Pinpointing the issue and ensuring that there’s not a deeper electrical issue that can cause electrocution or fire is a top priority.
5 Reasons You Have Flickering Lights
1. Your Light Build is Loose
When was the last time that you checked the flickering bulbs to ensure that they were properly tightened? If your bulbs are loose, they may have enough of a connection to light up, but the inconsistent power causes flickering.
For many people, a loose bulb is a best-case scenario.
Shut the light off, wait for it to cool and tighten the bulb. If the light still flickers even when fully tightened, the cause may be one of the points listed below.
2. Circuit Overloading Due to LargeElectrical Currents
Your lights may be on a circuit that is simply overloaded. Appliances, such as a refrigerator or washing machine, demand a lot of energy. Often, lights may dim or flicker when you first turn on one of these appliances.
However, if the flicker is brief, it’s often not a cause for concern.
You should be concerned if:
· Flickering lasts for longer than a second
· Flickering happens all of the time
Installing new electrical circuits or upgrading your current circuits is the only way to correct circuit overloading issues.
If your lights flickered every few weeks and the problem has progressively worsened, it may be an issue with loose wiring. Wear and tear, age and even incorrect installation may be the culprit.
Loose wiring is a serious cause for concern because it can cause:
· Arching
· Overheating
Both arching and overheating can cause fires or power loss. You should immediately call an electrician if your flickering is increasing in frequency so that a full inspection of your home’s wiring can be performed.
4. Heavy Neighbourhood Usage
Utility services can be under immense usage at different times of the day. Your utility service’s lines or transformers may have an issue when you or anyone connected to the transformer is engaging in heavy power usage.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an issue that you can correct on your own.
5. Wrong Bulb Type
Some bulbs, primarily fluorescent bulbs, have warm-up cycles and are more prone to flickering than LED lights. The warm-up cycle can change, resulting in flickering lights, due to many factors, including:
· Bulb age
· Temperature
Additionally, you may be using an LED bulb on a dimmer switch, which can cause flickering. Dimmer switches can handle large electrical loads, and sinceLED lights have a low-voltage design, they may be incompatible with the switch in your home.
It’s important to purchase bulbs that are compatible with the switch you have installed.
Of course, these are just a few of the many reasons that you’re experiencing flickering lights. An electrician can help you pinpoint the issue and fix it before it poses a serious safety risk in your home.
If you have flickering lights and can’t seem to fix the problem, leave it to the professionals. Give us a call today at +61 (07) 380767 69 or fill out this form to get a quote.