11 July 2024

How to deal with flickering lights

Did you adjust something within your lighting and a bulb started flickering? That can be annoying but here we explain to you what can be the causes of a flickering lamp and how to fix it.

• Connection problems

If you have a bad connection in the fixture or in the light switch, this could be a reason for your lamp flickering. You will know this for sure if your lamp only flashes when you turn it on. This can be solved by going through all the wiring of the lamp to make sure everything is connected properly and has good contact with in the luminaire. Should there be no problems here, it would be smart to check all the wiring. We do recommend hiring an electrician for this.

• Wrong transformer

Do your lights flicker when they are full on or are they not connected to a dimmer? Then for LED bulbs, this could definitely be the problem as LED bulbs do not work well on halogen transformers. This is because halogen transformers only work on higher wattage bulbs. Since LED bulbs usually have lower wattages, they therefore do not work well on a halogen transformer. This can be solved by buying an LED bulb with a higher wattage or replacing the transformer with an LED transformer. Always make sure that your bulb has a higher wattage than the minimum to make sure your bulb does not flash.

• Wrong dimmer

If your LED bulbs flicker during dimming, your dimmer may not be suitable for LED lighting. Dimmable LED bulbs, for example, do not always work well with dimmers originally intended for old halogen lighting. This is because most dimmers are designed for lamps with higher electrical loads, such as traditional halogen and incandescent lamps. In addition, an LED lamp may start flashing if connected to a dimmer with a very low power. You can solve these problems by replacing your old halogen dimmer with one specifically suited to LED bulbs, or by opting for a higher-power LED dimmer. Also, make sure you check whether your LED bulbs are actually dimmable and replace them if necessary.

• Power supply fluctuations

Flashing LED lights can also be caused by fluctuations in the electricity network. If several appliances, such as a kettle or washing machine, are connected to the same group as the lighting, the power demand of these appliances can cause your lighting to become unstable. In addition, a leak in the electricity network can cause a bit of power to be lost all the time, resulting in flickering lights. This may be due to poor insulation of the wiring. If you cannot find any other cause for the flashing lights, it is advisable to check or have the wiring and distribution of the groups checked. Installing a stabiliser could also be a possible solution.

• Broken driver

If your LED bulb suddenly starts flickering after previously functioning well, the cause could be a faulty driver. Overheating of the LED lighting can cause this problem. While it is sometimes possible to replace the broken driver, it is usually easier to replace the whole lamp, as the driver is often integrated into the LED lamp.