What Your Flickering Lights Mean: Info from an Electrician in Carlsbad, NM

Flickering lights can be quite a nuisance, whether they’re happening in your home or office. Not only can this problem be distracting and potentially harmful to your health (causing headaches or nausea), but it will also waste a lot of electricity in your building.

If you have had problems with flickering or dimming lights in your home or office, here are some things you should know about the issue and how to know if you’ll need to call an electrician in Carlsbad, NM to resolve the problem.

One flickering bulb

If the flickering is limited to just one bulb, the problem will likely be easier to fix. The bulb might simply not be screwed in tightly enough, or it could need to be changed. Certain types of bulbs (typically LEDs and fluorescent bulbs) are more prone to flickering than incandescent bulbs and other types, so this might simply be normal bulb behavior. Therefore, if it’s just a single light, check to see if the bulb is screwed in all the way, or try replacing it with a different bulb. This will likely solve your problem.

A full circuit of lights flickering

Let’s say you plug in your hair dryer, or start to heat up some food in your microwave, and suddenly the lights begin to flicker. This means your circuit is overloaded. Either that circuit is old and outdated, or you’re trying to do too much with your electricity at one time. This is especially common in holder buildings that have less breaker capacity.
This typically isn’t a dangerous problem; it’s just a nuisance. However, if it’s worse than just occasional flickering bulbs and you actually begin to trip your breaker, this is a larger issue that warrants a call to a professional electrician right away.

Lights flickering in whole building

If you’re having lights regularly flickering throughout your building on multiple circuits, this is also a larger issue that likely needs the services of an electrician. The problem could be poor cable connections to your power source. You should get an electrician over to analyze the problem as soon as you can, as large-scale flickering of lights in your building could become a fire hazard.

Lights flickering without a discernible pattern

Oftentimes lights that dim and flicker have some quick fixes because you are able to pin them down to a single area. However, if there is no discernible pattern to this flickering, you should get an electrician to your property as soon as possible, as it will be difficult for you to tell yourself what the best solution is and whether the problem could turn into a fire hazard.
While not all flickering lights are dangerous, it is still a problem you should not ignore. Whether it’s changing a bulb, checking a breaker or calling an electrician, you should be prepared to resolve the issue in some way as soon as possible, just to be on the safe side. For more information, contact an electrician in Carlsbad, NM.

Categorised in: Electrical Issues