Trusted Tips and Resources

Trusted Tips & Resources

Trusted Regina Electricians Active Electric Share A Tip About Flickering Lights

Active Electric are Trusted Regina Electricians and they get it right the first time, delivering all electrical services including installation, upgrade, and repair solutions. In their latest Trusted Regina electrician tip, they share a tip about flickering lights. 

Active Electric are your TRUSTED REGINA ELECTRICAL EXPERTS



What does it mean when the lights in your home start to flicker?


While there are a few benign issues that could be at play, flickering lights are not to be treated lightly. In many cases, they’re a telltale sign of a much more serious electrical issue that requires immediate professional attention. Today, we’re taking a look at the most common culprits behind this issue so you know what you’re working with and who to call for help.


What Causes Flickering Lights?


The occasional light flicker might be caused by a number of problems, some of which aren’t a cause for extreme concern.


The top four minor complications that could cause them to behave this way include:

  • A problem with your lightbulb (e.g. wrong bulb type for the dimmer, loose socket connection)

  • A faulty light switch or fixture switch

  • A loose connection between the light plug and outlet


In addition, if you have any appliances that require substantial current on startup, the resulting voltage drop can also cause your lights to briefly flicker on and off. Inspecting your lights can often reveal if any of these issues are at play. Sometimes, you just need to screw the bulb in a little tighter or make sure light is plugged more firmly into the wall socket.


However, while these issues might be to blame on some accounts, they’re not typical. More often, flickering lights are a more serious symptom of a much deeper problem. Let’s take a look at five of the main ones.


1. An Overloaded Circuit


As mentioned, infrequent flickering that happens right when a major appliance starts up isn’t usually critical. This can happen in even the best-designed electrical systems, where larger loads have their own dedicated circuits. On the other hand, it’s worth checking into if the flickering is:

  • Consistent

  • Severe

  • Persistent

In this case, the issue might be with the appliance, not your lights. For instance, if it’s experiencing bearing failure, the motor will strain to pull more current during startup. Or, a given circuit might be experiencing sensory overload.

Rather than try to inspect the circuit yourself, it’s always best to hire a professional electrician to do the job.


2. Electric Utility Service Issue


Especially if you live in a neighborhood, your home likely shares a transformer with surrounding homes. This means that your electrical supply is tied to their respective loads.

If someone down the street is engaging in heavy electrical use, it can cause your lights to flicker. If this isn’t the case or if the lights are also flickering at their house, the issue might lie with your utility service. An electrician can determine if it’s time to call them for a repair.


3. Fluctuating Electrical Voltage


On a standard, 120-volt circuit, your home should have a reading of between 115 volts and 125 volts. If you have a voltmeter, you can check that reading yourself. If it comes back higher than 125 volts, that could be the reason your lights are flickering.

There are many reasons why the voltage in your house might be too high. Most of the time, the issue is technical in nature and points to serious faults in your electrical system. Other signs associated with this issue include unpredictable dimming and frequent bulb burnouts.

Excess voltage can be a safety hazard in your home and lead to an electrical emergency. That’s why it’s imperative to call an electrician to diagnose the problem immediately.


4. Loose, Outdated Wiring Connections


The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that 67% of home fires caused by electrical distribution or lighting equipment can be traced back to wiring issues.

Not only can loose and outdated wiring cause your lights to flicker, but it can also be incredibly dangerous. If you have a loose connection in a light, outlet, or switch box, it can lead to a phenomenon called arcing. This is when the electrical current travels over gaps in the connection, “jumping” as it does so.

Each arc can exceed 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and will often spark an electrical fire. If you haven’t made any changes or upgrades to your electrical system but are still noticing flickers, loose wiring could be to blame. The issue can originate in a number of places, including:

  • Loose wiring in a fixture

  • A switch failure

  • Over-worn breaker box connectors

  • Loose service conductors in the main electrical panel

Loose wiring is nothing to contend with.

Contact an electrician as soon as possible if you believe this could be the reason your lights are flickering. If only one light is flickering and you suspect that loose wiring is to blame, make sure to turn the light off at the circuit breaker before inspecting it. Again, it’s best to let your electrician perform this step.


5. Main Connection Issues


You might notice the lights flickering in just a few areas of your house. Or, you might see it all over. If it’s the latter, go ahead and call an electrician right away.

If this activity is occurring without rhyme or reason, it likely means there’s a bigger, underlying concern with your main meter box connection. Or, the issue could lie with your service cable connection. Either way, it’s best to let an electrician handle these high-capacity wires.

Address and Repair Your Flickering Lights Today

It might seem like a minor issue, but flickering lights can turn into a serious problem in no time. Even one loose connection could be enough to spark a fire or cause a major electrical issue throughout your whole house. If you’ve noticed yours acting this way, don’t try to investigate or remediate the issue yourself. These connections are dangerous and should only be handled by skilled, experienced electricians like the ones on our team at Active Electric Regina. 


ACTIVE ELECTRIC are TRUSTED REGINA ELECTRICIANS 

Trusted Regina Electricians Active Electric Are Gemstone Lights Authorized Dealers in Regina

Active Electric are Trusted Regina Electricians and they get it right the first time, delivering all electrical services including installation, upgrade, and repair solutions. In their latest Trusted Regina electrician tip, they share the news that they are an authorized dealer for Gemstone Lights in Regina.    

Active Electric are your TRUSTED REGINA ELECTRICAL EXPERTS

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GET GEMSTONE LIGHTS IN REGINA 

Gemstone Lights offer many fun ideas and opportunities to make your home or business more awesome. Below is a list of 10 reasons we think you should consider when purchasing our Smart Outdoor Lighting Solution.

1. North American Owned & Manufactured

Gemstone created their own proprietary products that you cannot find or buy off the shelf. They aim to be the best lighting company the market has ever seen. At Gemstone Lights, they constantly strive to make their products better each time which the team at Active Electric love because we get the best of the best.

2. Mesmerizing Animations- 11+ Patterns

Currently, they are 11 different types of patterns you can choose from that will make your home look awesome. Within each of those patterns, you have limitless options to create almost anything you want.

3. True Warm White!

This is an absolute customer favorite! LEDs are phenomenal and powerful, but even more amazing is the ability to use a soft white that can give your home a subtle ambiance. This color is perfect for a warm summer evening playing in the dark!

4. Individual Waterproof Connectors

You probably have seen the strip light look on hotels or restaurants which is showing up on homes now. From a tech standpoint, the long strip of lights is exactly that, strips connected to each other. What sets up Gemstone Lights differently is that they don’t utilize the strip set up for a few reasons. Gemstone lights are waterproof and individually connected to handle the seasons, but more than that, they are easy to replace should one become faulty. It usually takes longer to put a ladder up than to change the actual LED! Waste is minimized this way and customers love that they know they have more control.

5. Architectural Lighting

Each LED on your home is individually controlled which gives you more control and versatility. This allows you to create some awesome lighting patterns with endless ideas. Now you can create an amazing architectural look and feel using any colors you desire.

6. Set Multiple Timers

Gemstone Lights has created timers for your system that can turn on and off your lights or patterns whenever you want. You simply choose the date, time, pattern and turn it on. Customers like being able to turn on lights at a certain time during the mornings and turn off when they want. You can even use the architectural lighting options to turn on certain lights at certain times which gives you lots more control.

7. Low Profile Design

It is very important to create a look that blends into your property. Gemstone thought long and hard about how the LEDs show and we believe that they created the best low profile design available on the market. When your lights are turned off, you don’t get the hang-down look out of place like look like others.

8. Bumper to Bumper Warranty

Gemstone Lights offers a strong 2-year warranty. Their LEDs are graded to 50,000 hours which will give you a longer shelf life than other lighting products by a large margin. They stand behind their products 100%.

9. Custom iOS & Android App

Use custom programmed iOS and Android apps designed specifically for the Gemstone Lights system. The investment customers make to get into a Gemstone Lights system outweighs the alternatives. For example, the average person who buys LED lights for Christmas will spend around $200+. Those lights will give you a specific shelf life as the manufacturing is not designed to last long term. Those companies want you to buy more lights over and over!

The cost to replace the bad “strands” of lights is not worth it so customers, feel obligated to buy more lights, and by then, the colors don’t match. Customers will get into the trap of buying them all over again.

Factor in the cost to pay someone to hang them AND take them down for you each year. That can range from $300- to $800+ depending on the size of your home. That’s just Christmas too!

With Gemstone Lights, having lights year-round with our permanent solution gives you way more use and time to use it to the fullest. Now you can add in additional holidays, seasons, birthdays, architectural lighting and more!

10. Your lights will be cooler than your neighbours!

Lol. Fact. Far too often we hear from customers' neighbours who finally say, “my neighbour has them and we want them too!”

Bonus! Control your system from anywhere using Gemstone Cloud technology!

Whether you are on vacation or at home, you can control your lights remotely on your mobile device  

If you’re interested in a free no-obligation quote for Gemstone Lights, contact the team at Active Electric today! 

ACTIVE ELECTRIC are TRUSTED REGINA ELECTRICIANS 


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