Why do my lightbulbs keep blowing?
Many people complain that their light bulbs blow regularly and we run through the main reasons that this happens
It is not likely that the problem you have is a major one. Your circuit breakers (MCB) in the house are designed to trip if there is any fault in the wiring. A bulb blowing may trip the switch, but providing a brand new bulb replaced in the fitting does not blow straight away than you can look for one of these minor problems.
Firstly isolate the power supply to the bulb – turn it off at the main fuse board to be sure.
- Don’t buy cheap light bulbs – they are a false economy
- Overloading a system – when the light fitting says a maximum wattage for the bulbs that means the life of the bulb may be reduced if you overload it
- Using too many bulbs of the ‘right’ wattage in a light fitting – you should pay attention to the maximum number of watts allowed for the whole fitting. This is a common problem with halogen bulbs
- There may be a loose connection in the lamp holder
- If the fitting is a spring loaded one make sure it is fitting snugly against the bulb, and not loose
- The ‘live’ wire in the fitting may be loose
If you replace the bulb and the fuse trips immediately, you should call in an electrician to source the problem.
For the sake of safety can we repeat that you must make sure you have turned the power off to the light fitting before you try to do any maintenance.
