![]() ![]() CFL What Myths Have You Heard About LED Lighting?ĭon’t let LED lighting myths keep you from making the switch. You can build a box around the fixture housing to allow for the appropriate space.Myths about LED Lighting and LED Light Bulbs Published May 2020 If your fixture is not rated “IC,” it should not be covered with insulation. Overheating causes bulbs to flicker or burn out early and are also a fire hazard. Some fixtures are designed to be covered with attic insulation, but some fixtures must have the insulation held back by at least 3 inches, to prevent overheating of the fixture. Recessed light fixtures often have housings that extend into the attic. Energy-efficient bulbs (such as LEDs) have much lower wattages than standard incandescent bulbs while producing an equivalent amount of light. Prevent problems by using the appropriate bulb wattage. Using a bulb with a wattage that’s higher than the maximum rating for your light fixture creates excessive heat, reducing the bulb life and potentially melting the insulation on the fixture wiring. In any of these cases, replace the defective parts before resetting the breaker or replacing a fuse. The fixture cord may be shorted, a plug could be defective, or the light socket may be shorted or defective. Tripped Circuit Breaker or Blown FuseĪ tripped breaker or blown a fuse can be a major culprit of bulbs not working. Contacts in the center of the socket can get worn or corroded, and if this is the culprit, simply replace the socket or the fixture. Turn off the power and check the connection on the fixture. Another issue could be a loose wire connection. Simply tighten the bulb to correct the problem. Flickering Bulbīulbs flicker when they’re loose in the socket. They’re more efficient, last longer, and don’t contain potentially dangerous mercury like CFL bulbs do. ![]() CLFs are believed to have a 10,000-hour lifespan, but if you’ve had them you know this isn’t the case! The answer here is to switch to LED bulbs. Bad BulbĬompact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs are notorious for going bad before their time. To fix this problem, simply unplug the lamp or turn off the power to the fixture, use a wooden popsicle stick to bend the tab up about 1/8 inch, turn the power back on, and test it. If the socket gets pushed down too far, it can fail to contact the bulb. The little metal tab at the bottom of a light bulb socket is the “hot” connection that delivers electrical current to the bulb. These bulbs have heavy-duty filaments to withstand vibration better. (This is why garage door light bulbs tend to burn out quickly!) You can try a rough service bulb to correct this problem. This vibration jiggles the filament in the bulb and leads to a shorter bulb life. This happens when a light fixture becomes unbalanced. Excessive Fixture VibrationĪ good example of this is a shaky ceiling fan with a light fixture. If a test reveals a voltage higher than 125 volts, contact your electrician to look at the problem. Be sure you know how to do this safely because the power will be on. You can test for voltage at a standard (120-volt) electrical outlet, using a multimeter or a voltage tester. If the supply voltage to your home is higher than it should be, light bulbs will burn brighter, thus burning out much faster. Here are a few things you may want to check before throwing out another bulb. If you’ve replaced bulbs recently and the lifespan doesn’t seem to be all that it should, the cause may be the fixture itself or another problem entirely. But sometimes it seems like light bulbs burn out more quickly than they should. Even our beloved LED bulbs will eventually need replaced. Compact fluorescent bulbs are supposed to last much longer, but this is not always the case. ![]() Based on a usage of eight hours a day, a bulb should last roughly about four months. While not as popular as they once were, incandescent bulbs have a lifespan of around 900 hours. In a perfect world, light bulbs would never burn out…but sadly our world isn’t perfect. ![]()
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