karen@brightsparkelectrician.co.uk

01892 531 728

kitchen dining room

Where Bright Ideas

Come to Life!

I’ve just replace my lightbulbs to the LED lightbulbs. And now the lights are flickering. What’s going on?

Congratulations, you are now saving money on your electricity bill, by running energy-efficient lights in your home.

 

There are a number of reasons why the lights are flickering now as you have changed the lightbulbs.

 

We will explain:

 

#1. - Are they Dimmable?

The lightbulbs you have purchased may not be dimmable. When faced with buying new LED lightbulbs, there are so many different one and the cheaper option may not be the right choice.

 

Did you check the packet to see if it stated if the lightbulbs what dimmable?

 

#2. The wrong Transformer?

 

If you have recessed downlights in your ceiling, and the lightbulbs had some very thin prongs to fit into the lamp holder, then these lightbulbs are the 12 V variety.

 

Often the case the transformer/driver hidden up in the ceiling behind your light fitting is of the wrong type and cannot cope with the lower wattage of the new lightbulbs.

The transformers need to be swapped out for some LED compatible Transformers. (They are a bit of a pig to get to at times – because the light fittings are so firmly fitted in the ceiling, and there is a likelihood of an untrained person pulling away some of the ceiling around the light fitting).

At Bright Spark we are replacing these on a regular basis, so if you do not feel confident about doing this, please give us a call for one of our electricians to come and assist.

 

#3. Non compatible Dimmer Switch

 

You may have purchased dimmable lightbulbs; however the dimmer switch may not be compatible with dimmable lightbulbs! Some of the older variety of dimmer switches do not work with the lower wattages of LED.

 

A simple solution is to replace your dimmer switch with an LED compatible dimmer switch.

 

Please make sure when you remove the dimmer switch from the wall – the power is off, And you make notes as to which wire goes into which hole, It is not just replacing the wires back into the same hole, you need to check what the holes are named as. Also beware if there are lots of wires – you may have trouble putting the new dimmer switch back in the wall, or even wiring the thing up.

 

Another solution is if you still wish to retain your existing dimmer switch faceplate to match in with the rest of your socket and lighting outlets, dimmer switch modules can be replaced.

 

Please give us a call if you are struggling with this.

 

#4. Modern Dimmer Switch - needs reprogamming!

 

Your new dimmer switch maybe LED compatible, however when the lights are switched on, they may be slow to start up (even by just a few microseconds). We have found that out of frustration, our customers have jabbed the dimmer switch repeatedly to get the lights working. (It can also be the children just playing with the switches).

 

The process in reprogramming your dimmer switches is fairly straightforward, as long as you follow the instructions – which were provided with the dimmer switch.

 

If you cannot find the instructions, please give us a call so we can help you out reprogramming the dimmer switch, or we can send you over some instructions to set up your dimmer switch.

 

The instructions are fairly straightforward, however you have to read them carefully before reprogramming your switch, as you need to do a lot of things with pressing the Button and twisting the knob backwards and forwards within a couple of seconds.

For more indepth information to help you we have put together this helpfull simple article about Dimmer Switches & how to program them up.

 

To book very helpfull & knowledgeable Bright Spark Electrician to carry out a Visual Survey, and provide a Free of Charge Quotation, fill out our simple form to visit  your home. click [Click this Link]

For further Information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Telephone: 01892 531728

Email: karen@brightsparkelectrician.co.uk

Related Articles

Thank you also for such a brilliant service, it’s been a pleasure dealing with you from start to finish, and your team member today was fantastic too. I would have absolutely no hesitation using you for electrical work in future and recommending you to friends. Now, if you could just set up a building and plumbing company too… ha ha!

Louise - St James

Just to say a big thank you for the work that your electrician carried out at my mothers house. He was very professional and a clean worker and the finished job was a complete success. It is very comforting to know that when a tradesperson attends the property of a elderly customer that they feel safe and happy. Once again, Thanks Keith

Keith, Pembury

Very pleased with the excellent job from the Bright Spark team. Really informative and helpful advice from Karen and Richard the electrician was friendly, professional and a pleasure to deal with. Will use again. Thank you very much for a job well done.Update: just used Bright Spark again (Aug 25) and Joe did an excellent job and Karen's communication was excellent. Thank you very much.

Martin - Tonbridge

Wonderful Job - Thank you very much

Daphne - Lamberhurst

I was really impressed with the work done for me by Bright Sparks. It is lovely that they are local to me in Hildenborough and grateful that they could fit me in at short notice. The repairs were done quickly and easily by Charlie and the whole thing coordinated by Karen who kept me informed every step of the way. Well done Bright Sparks!

Jill - Hildenborough

REQUEST QUOTE