light bulb issues, keep breaking. Need a electrician to explain?

Question

I've moved into a high area like 7,000 feet, mt area. I'm not sure if it's normal but I seem to be going through new bulbs like 1-2 a month. The things is, I turn on the light bam, need another ligtht bulb. I've went though 30 in the last year at least. Another thing the house got hit by lightning. He knows the house got hit.
I don't know what to tell my hubby.Since 90% of the time it's me who turns on the lights. I'm being gentle, it's not like I'm doing this, ok ! Someone please explain what the heck is going on!

So far sounds great, I'm going to try them all. I knew it wasn't me!

Answer 1

You may be able to fix this yourself, but if you have any doubts, call a qualified electrician . A problem like what you describe is often caused by either a loose "neutral" wire or corrosion at the connections of the the "neutral" wire. Since it is not just isolated to one particular light, it is very likely a problem in the electrical panel. I would check the incoming power at the panel to assure that the proper voltage is present on both legs. In most locations, the utility company will send a service technician to investigate potential problems with the electrical service to determine if there is a problem with their equipment (usually at no charge to you). You said that lightning hit the house. This could have damaged the electrical service at the house. If you are not confident about doing electrical work, call a competent electrician. If you wish to try to resolve the problem yourself, turn the power off at the main breaker (to be safe, turn all the breakers off), and verify that the power is OFF with an electrical meter or tester. . Look for any signs of corrosion. If the ends of the wires are corroded or dirty, loosen the screw and take them out one at a time and clean them (emery cloth or sandpaper works well) Apply some anti-oxidant (Penetrox, OxGaurd, NoAlox, etc). Replace the wire in the slot where it came from, and tighten the screw. Many times, just tightening the screws will take care of it. If this does not correct the problem, the source may be in a junction box, and you would be best advised to call an electrician for help. Hope this helps you! Good luck!

Answer 2

When you install a bulb always do so with the power on and the light switch on. As soon as the bulb comes on, only continue to turn the bulb one-eighth of a turn. If you screw the bulb in too tightly, you will once again flatten the brass tab.

My light bulbs were blowing out very quickly, every two
> > or three weeks, to be exact. An electrician looked at my wiring and told
> > me that my switches were wired incorrectly, that the switch was on the
> > "neutral" instead of the "hot" wire. He rewired all of my switches and
> > now my light bulbs don't blow out as quickly.
> > Why does switching the neutral make light bulbs blow out so quickly?
> > Thanks,
> > Bruce

I don't know of any way this particular wiring error can have any
effect on bulb life. However, if your switches were wired incorrectly,
there's a good chance other things were also wrong--things an
electrician looking for the cause of this problem would have checked
and fixed as a matter of course. (You have to understand that an
electrician is going to want to fix everything he sees that's wrong and
that might be the cause of your problem, because he doesn't want you to
have to call him back, and because he can't wait three weeks to see
which fix actually solved the problem. And any electrician who sees a
switch wired backwards is going to fix it whether or not he thinks it
might be the cause of the problem, because electricians just hate it
when customers die while changing light bulbs.)

Anyway, here's one wiring problem that might have been the cause: A
neutral wire disconnected at the breaker box will change a pair of 110
volt circuits into a single 220 volt circuit with appliances from one
circuit electrically in series with appliances from the other. In this
case, if appliances from both circuits were on at the same time, the
actual voltage across them would depend on their resistances, and this
could easily result in more than 110 volts being across your light
bulbs, which would decrease their lifetime significantly. A neutral
wire only loosely connected at the breaker box can have a similar but
less noticeable effect. Anyone who notices a loose neutral connection
is going to tighten it up and give all the other ones a little twist as
well just to be safe. Maybe one of these twists actually is what fixed
the problem.

Answer 3

Cheap economy bulbs do this alot. Quality brand name bulbs are less likely to burn out that quick. If you are using the higher end bulbs and it is still happening, there is a power surge in the line. Needs to be checked out by an electrician.
Lightning has nothing to do with it now(besides that would have gone directly to ground).
Do you turn on something else after the bulb is turned on? Like the heat or some motor? Electrician.

Answer 4

Its your incoming electrical supply causing the bulbs to blow.Your mains voltage is going up and down rapidly blowing the light bulb filiment.If you see the bulbs actual light getting bright then dark as you watch it then its the voltage.You may be on a shared local transformer with say a farm where machinery is used at certain times like milking machines this would cause problems.

Answer 5

It is not the altitude that is the problem. If anything the altitude helps as the inside of a bulb is in a vacuum. Find someone that has a VOM (Volt-ohm-meter) and check any one of your receptacles for voltage. The voltage should be; between, 115 volts and 120 volts (normally 117 volts). Odds are your voltage is below the 115 mark which will cause higher current thus: more heat. And in that cold environment, more heat on a cold bulb and BAM. (Most appliances are designed to operate down to 110 volts) Also; the lower voltage will diminish the life of all your electrical devices (washer-dryer etc.). If you are mathematically inclined the reason for all this is..Wattage = Voltage X current, SOoo..If your voltage drops your current must go up to achieve the wattage required (more current=more heat=less life). It is this imbalance that is destroying your bulbs and other electrical devices..
FYI,- you could buy bulbs that are made for garages they are more expensive but will last a little longer 'til you get your voltage problem resolved.

Answer 6

It sounds like you have a high-line voltage condition. Since you're so high up may I assume you live realitively far from a large city? Often power companies over-compensate in rural areas and their transformers may be in a high condition. The only way to verify would be to have an electrician come out and check.

If you'd like to experiment, here's what to do: get a UPS (uniteruptable power supply) for a computer, a small one will do. Connect the lights in question directly to it. It will have a built-in voltage compensator and will prevent surges in line voltage that I think may be responsible for the light bulb problem.

Another idea for the incandescent bulbs in the house would be to wire in dimmer switches. They will increase the life-span of any non-fluorescent bulb. Don't put dimmers on fluorescent bulbs!

Answer 7

Try using a lower watt bulb. Also you gotts spend the extra money and get the higher quality ones. you may wind up switching to a flourescent.

Answer 8

The more you turn a light off and on the faster it burns out. Sounds like you and your husband follow each other turning the lights off and on.

Answer 9

You probably need an electrician to come out, it sounds like you need your house rewired. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, but that is what is sounds like :)

Answer 10

Call your electrician, and they can help you out. You may need your home re-wired.