Light Bulb Burn Out

There are several reasons for premature light bulb burn out. You may be able to improve on your light bulb life by taking a few precautions. In some cases premature light bulb failure is out of your hands due to power fluctuations in the line voltage coming to your home. Light bulb service time is printed on the package that the bulb comes in but that is based upon optimum conditions. In most cases your light bulbs will fail before they reach the manufactures stated service time.   The typical incandescent bulb is good for about 900 hours or approximately six months under nominal usage. A Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) or cfl light bulbs, will last much longer, 2 – 5 years but they are much more expensive than incandescent bulbs.  If the average service life of your bulbs is less than the manufacturer's rated life, the cause maybe one or more of the following reasons.

1. You may have over-voltage or voltage fluctuations on the line coming into your house. This is often caused by a bad transformer on the line that regulates the voltage to your house. You can determine this by checking the voltage with a multi-meter. It should be very close to 120 volts. If the voltage is higher, 125V or more, notify the power company.  An extra 7 or 8 extra volts on a 120V line will cut light bulb life in half. 

2. The filament in an incandescent light bulb gets very hot. The light fixture that the bulb is in needs to be cooled to prevent excessive heat buildup. It the bulb is too high a wattage for the fixture (globe) and the heat can't escape the bulb and fixture will get very hot. Never exceed the recommended wattage for a light fixture to avoid this problem. If you are using CFL light bulbs they most likely will not generate a heat related problem. CFL operated much cooler and they do not have a filament that burn white hot. CFL are basically gas burning florescent bulbs that generate very little heat.  

3. Be aware that recessed lighting fixtures often get covered by attic insulation which blocks the intended ventilation and cooling of the bulb. Excessive heat can build up around the bulb, causing short bulb life.

4. A vibration problem will cause premature incandescent light bulb failure. Bulbs under a stairway, near an out of balance ceiling fan, or near slamming doors will have their service life shortened by the vibration.  Special shock resistant or "rough service" bulbs are available for this situation. This problem can be eliminated if you use a CFL energy saving light bulb.

5. Flickering caused by intermittent electrical contact in the light fixture or wiring can cause premature light bulb failure.  It's nearly the same as turning the light on-and-off constantly, and will reduce bulb life.  Bad light sockets or poor electrical connections somewhere in the wires leading to the light can cause this problem. Flickering can cause the bad connection to overheat and possibly start a fire. A large appliances such as a washing machine or a dish washer on the same circuit as the light will cause flickering when they come on due to the momentary high voltage cycles on the circuit.

Light bulbs are expensive especially the CFL energy saving bulbs. If you are experiencing premature light bulb burn out you should investigate the cause and take action to eliminate the problem.

See:  Light Bulb Replacement