A flickering room light can seem like a minor concern, but it’s often a sort of harbinger for serious home electrical problems. While a one-off incident of flickering can usually be ignored, if it’s a recurring thing, you’re almost certainly being faced with at least one of several possible electrical malfunctions.
If you’re noticing flickering in your residential lighting, let’s go over 10 possible causes and how you can work towards safely correcting them!
1. Loose Bulbs
The most common reason for flickering light in a room is a loose bulb. Most bulbs are not tightly screwed into a light socket. A loose bulb causes an incomplete electric connection and periodic flashes of light.
Fortunately, a loose bulb is pretty straightforward to fix. You will want to first turn off the light switch and then screw the bulb tightly into its socket. Keep in mind that bulbs do tend to wiggle loose over time though, so you will probably have to tighten the same bulb more than once.
2. Voltage Fluctuations
A voltage problem (rather than a bulb problem) can be the cause of light fluctuations. Basically, in this situation, the power supply itself is unable to get a steady supply of electricity to the bulb, which makes it flicker.
Unfortunately, these types of fluctuations can be caused by a whole host of things, whether that be poor wires, power grid errors on your utility company’s part, old or worn-out wiring, or circuit overloads. It’s usually best to have an electrician come in if you’re not sure which of these things is causing your light to flicker.
One thing to mention here is that more modern and newer light sources, whether it is LED recessed lighting or otherwise, tend to be significantly less likely to flicker. Thus, if you can update an old or outdated lighting system, flickering will be far less of an issue.
3. Incompatible Dimmer Switches
Some flickering room lights are caused by an incompatible dimmer switch. Many bulbs will not work efficiently with other types of dimmer switches. Fluorescent lighting and energy-saving light bulbs are extremely useful but are incompatible with most dimmer switches.
Similarly, an integrated LED light fixture is also going to require special, compatible dimmer switches. Fortunately, since LED lighting has become much more popular in recent years, these switches are usually cheap and easy to find.
4. Loose Connections
Another reason why a light in a room might be flickering is a loose connection. A loose connection can be a much more dangerous situation than some other causes of flickering lights, since a loose connection can create arcing and arcing can potentially ignite a house fire.
What makes this issue even riskier is that a loose connection could be anywhere along an electrical circuit, so that it could be either the fixture, the panel, or even the light switch. This makes it incredibly difficult to locate where the loose connection is.
Due to the difficulty in finding the location where there is a loose connection of a light and due to the likelihood of an electric fire, calling an electrician to handle such issues is best.
5. Circuit Overloads
An overloaded circuit is another very common reason for room lights to flicker. When multiple electrical appliances are connected to the same circuit, a light can receive an unsteady flow of electricity from the circuit. If this happens, you’ll see the typical flickering light scenario.
The main solution to this issue is to disconnect appliances from a circuit if you are not using them. Another solution is to buy low-energy light sources such as LED panel lights since these sources will not overload a circuit easily.
6. Utility Service Problems
In some cases, the reason that a light flickers may have nothing to do with your local electrical fixture, but with your residence’s utility service. Utility services occasionally have problems with the flow of electricity in the underlying power grid or even with a piece of equipment failure.
For utility service problems, the best solution is to contact the company directly and let them know that you’re experiencing light flickering. Once they’re aware of your situation, they will generally work to resolve the grid or equipment issues as fast as they can.
7. Old Wires
Wiring that is old and worn out is among the scarier causes of a room light’s flickering. With age, electrical wiring gets damaged and gets rusted or frayed. In addition to causing the light in a room to flicker, there is the possibility of causing electrical fires (same as with loose connections.)
To prevent light flickering caused by damage to old electric wiring, it’s worth it to buy and install newer, more modern lighting sources like adjustable UFO lighting. And for severe wiring damage, you’ll want to have your electrician come in to get your home’s wires replaced.
8. Arcing
If there are loose connections on your wiring, electricity can pass through the space between. Not only will it produce flickering, but it can easily ignite an electrical fire by forming sparks.
As there is such a strong risk for a fire to be caused, arcing is a type of lighting issue that must be visited with a professional electrician to repair.
9. Main Connection Problems
As opposed to loose connections with the light source in your room, issues with your primary connection to the power grid can cause more significant problems. Here are three specific examples of where loose connections might occur:
- Electrical Panel: Loose or corroded connections within your electrical panel can disrupt the flow of electricity, leading to flickering lights or intermittent power outages.
- Electricity meter box: If the connections in the electricity meter box you use are not secure, it can cause power fluctuations, leading to flickering lights and safety hazards.
- Service Entrance Cables: Damaged or poorly connected service entrance cables, which bring power from the utility lines to your home, can also be a source of flickering lights and inconsistent power.
Because of the complexity of the main power connections, your best course of action when combating this type of flicker is to have either an electrician or your power provider come and fix it.
10. Consult a Professional Electrician
Struggling to figure out the source of your flickering room light? A meeting with a professional electrician is likely in order. Electricians have the knowledge and experience needed to quickly diagnose a lighting problem and figure out the fix.
Although the additional time and expense can seem like a true nuisance, some of the causes of a flickering light are the real deal when it comes to being hazardous and resulting in injury or house fires. Safety is the main concern!
How Can You Avoid These Problems?
Though a flickering room light is sometimes unavoidable, any homeowner can still take definite steps to avoid it. An excellent way to do this is by installing new room lights with greater energy efficiency, such as the LED lighting solutions and technology found on ComiLED.
Room lighting is less prone to flickering when you use up-to-date lighting sources, whether that means LED panels, recessed lighting, ceiling fixtures, or something else. For the most part, these types of lighting sources consume much less electricity, so they can help you avoid overloading circuits or wearing out electrical wiring.
Other methods of prevention are to routinely check for lighting or wiring issues and have an electrician out when you first notice them, as well as contacting your electricity company when you suspect you are experiencing issues with the power grid. Day-to-day maintenance will usually give you a forewarning if there are voltage fluctuations, overloaded circuits, or loose wiring.
Conclusion
Although there are a multitude of potential causes of flickering room lights, these causes each fortunately have a potential solution. From simple fixes like tightening a loose bulb to more complex tasks such as rewiring your home, understanding the root cause is key to stopping the flicker.
Taking preventative measures is a reliable way to address these issues before they arise. By combining high-quality lighting with regular maintenance, you can ensure flicker-free illumination. For instance, upgrading to premium brands like ComiLED lighting not only eliminates flickering but also enhances energy efficiency. Make the switch today for a brighter, more reliable home!
Related reading: What are Lights on the Nightstand Called?
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