Kelowna Electrical Services: 4 Reasons Your Light Bulbs are Burning Out Quickly

Lengthening the life of your light bulbs is an ongoing priority for homeowners. Bulbs are not cheap, and there are so many to maintain in any given house. If you find that your lights are burning out more quickly than usual, think about the four reasons below. If you are unable to fix it yourself, call an electrician in Kelowna who can diagnose your problem and fix it quickly. 

1. Excess Furniture Vibration

Ceiling fans are the most common culprit here. If their motors and blades are causing vibrations, it will jostle the fragile bulb filament and cause the bulbs to frequently blow. Fans may become imbalanced over time and add vibrations to the fixture. 

This can also happen with garage door openers. The constant movement of the door, gears, pulleys, and chains creates excess friction. If your garage bulbs keep blowing out, think about installing a rough service bulb with heavy-duty filaments, or having your garage door serviced. 

2. Wrong Type of Bulb

A simple fix for any room in the house is to assess the type of bulb you have and replace it if needed. Compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs have a reputation for burning out before their time.

Their manufacturers claim that they will last for 10,000 hours, but most of them never get that far. Depending on if the light is frequently switched off and on, the bulb’s longevity may suffer. 

LED bulbs are light-emitting diodes and do last quite a bit longer than CFLs. They don’t contain mercury, and their quality of light ranges from soft white to warm yellow. 

3. Short Circuits

Sometimes the problem may not be with the bulbs at all, but with your electrical panel or the wiring between the breakers and the fixtures. 

What Causes Short Circuits?

Short circuits occur when electricity flows outside the standard pathway. Healthy circuits need an appropriate amount of sustained resistance in order to function. When current flows outside of the wiring pathway, resistance is reduced and the current increases dramatically. This blows the fuse and causes everything to go dark.

How Can I Fix a Short Circuit?

This could be fixed by flipping the circuit breaker. If that doesn’t do the trick, check your plugs, sockets, and wiring for defects. Electrical repair services may be necessary to fully fix the problem, but you can address the problem by noticing whether all the lights in a certain area are going out. If so, check the circuitry. 

4. Depressed Socket Tab

At the bottom of a light socket is a tiny piece of metal that does all the work to make the light illuminate. If the socket tab is pushed down too low, the electrical current may not be able to bridge the gap and complete the circuit. 

This can be fixed by: 

1. Unplugging the lamp or turning off power to the fixture

2. Unscrewing the bulb

3. Use a small wooden tongue depressor or popsicle stick to gently bend the tab upward

4. Screwing the bulb back in and checking for light. 

If it works, great. If not, your socket or fixture may need to be replaced, 

Hire a Trustworthy Electrician in Kelowna

Every technician at Handyman Connection has over 10 years of experience and has completed a thorough background check. You can trust that the person you invite into your home is going to get the job done and treat you with respect.

Recently our customers have given us high ratings for how efficient and polite we are on the job. Reach out to us today for a free project estimate and consultation. We offer a one-year service guarantee, and all of our work is specified in writing.