Bulbs burning out like crazy in new house, please help!?
114971
bad wiring, I have the same problem, I use flouresent blubs from Costco, if your house is under warrenty I would make the contractor come back and fix it.
174509
Ours don't do it every night, but they do it occationally (like once a week or so). I was told it was because the bulbs tend to accumulate moisture inside them and if you don't heat up the bulbs to reduce the moisture level periodically, when you do turn them on they will all tend to blow out really quickly. So, I guess that means using them makes them last longer.
1079558
they work well.  I live in PA, and there is not much sunlight for most of the winter.  Wegmans, and most health food stores carry the light bulbs.  They are generally billed a "full-spectrum light bulbs."  \nNone of my family have SAD, however I definitely notice the mood change in my family when I buy them.
195118
Newer bulbs automatically refresh their volume from the gases present in the bulbs. They used to bleed off, become thinner and burn out eaiser.
700902
Ok, at the risk of being blunt, if you need to ask this, you might be better of leaving things well alone - or doing as the other person suggested and using a transormer to lower the voltage to begin with.\n\nHowever.........\n\nFirst of all, you need to plonk a diode in line really, LED's do not like AC so the diode will make things into "raggy DC", using a bridge rectifier would be better and would reduce the flickering, as would plonking a capacitor over the DC output - typically with AT LEAST a 380V rating if using a bridge and a 200V rating if using a single diode.\n\nStill with me?\n\nYou now need to work out the voltage drop over the LED's - this varies according to type - and mainly colour. About 1.8V for a typical RED LED and around 4v for a white one.\n\nYou then need to look at how many volts you have "left" after you have taken into account all of the LED's in series.\n\nEG:  You take 220V, use a single diode (110 v) and then pop a cap over to stop the flicker (around 160V)\n\nYou now have 30 red, 20 green and 10 blue LED's in series. Assume 1.8V drop on Red, 2.2V on Green and 4.1V on blue.\n54v  + 44v + 22v = 120v\nThis gives us 40v to "burn off" with a resistor.\n\nLet us assume you want to drive the LED's at 20mA\n\nR = V/I   therefore  R = 40/.02 = 2000 Ohms\n\nPower = I x I x R  (current sqaured 8 resistance) so the resistor will be dissipating 800mW - Allowing for plenty of play and wanting a warm rather than hot resistor, then 2w ideally.\n\n\nSo a 2K2 resistor - or 1K8 for a bit brighter would be your answer here (for the number of LEDS and type), rated at 2W or better.\n\nAs I said at the beginning, if ONE step of this doesn't make GOOD sense to you, PLEASE leave WELL alone.\n\n\n\nPLEASE DO NOT use this as a way to hook up the leds exactly as shown WITHOUT first checking their "forward voltage losses", I have used typical examples, different models can vary considerably.
125595
Leaving them turned off still won't help, because a lightning strike could still fry them. \n\nYou need them well grounded and in a Faraday cage if you want to avoid ALL pulses, including from lightning strikes.
729145
Carefully chose what you want to use to keep the lights up.  Using cup hooks works well.  Screws also stay in for a long time.  Once you place all your hooks/nails/screws about every 3 feet, they should last for years.  This will make light hanging go quicker for the next several years.\n\nAlso, try not to let the lights drop onto the driveway or sidewalk.  Be sure the lights are all working BEFORE you put them up.  Nothing is worse than getting them all up, plugging them in, and finding out they don't work!\n\nBut, worse then finding out they don't work, is putting them up and then discovering that you put the wrong end by the outlet!
745654
The glass is very thin and the bulb is very hot. The sudden change in temperature causes the galss to shatter because glass is not flexible and cannot change that fast. Remember, heat causes expansion and cold causes shrinkage and by doing this, you have caused a small area of shrinkage on the surface of the bulb.
983924
Black lights don't work.  Think of how many halloween parties you were at that had one of those and there weren't splotches on the couch and chairs (or heaven forbid on the sheet the guy used to look like a ghost).\n\nYou need a 366nm UV lamp, not a 254 nm lamp.\n\n\nWhat about washing or disinfecting the furniture when you get it instead of buying something?  It would also be weird going into a store, asking them to turn the lights out and then using the lamp.  Plus you have to explain why you are looking for splooge.
374633
"So 50 amps without considering lighting."\nthats the pitfall right there. \n\nAmperes is the unit for measuring current. Since the supply voltage is fixed at 110 v (I assume you are in the americas), the amount of energy you are using is given by the number of amps you are drawing.\n\nthe current drawn by each of the appliances, adds up arithmetically. Ideally your supply should support running all your appliances at the same time. and that should include lighting. \n\nif your lighting draws close to or more than 10 amps then you are overshooting your supply rating, you should upgrade.\n\nLike somebody else mentioned, air conditioning units and picture tubes draw a large amount of current (much larger than the value mentioned on the manual), when they start up. I'm not sure how your panel/utility company policy are set up to handle this, but it can be a problem if you are operating with too little amperage to spare.\n\nagain you are right that all the equipment would not be operating at full blast at the same time, but think of this hypothetical situation: after a power outtage, all the equipment want power to get back to normal operating state (heated/cooled/whatever), you might have to bring them up in stages, switching on one unit 30 mins after the earlier one was switched on..\n\nand there is one more thing you are overlooking: planning for growth. you dont want to go through the hassle of upgrading your supply limits just because you bought a new neon lamp for your window :)
310889
get some batteries, get some wires, and a very small lightbulb and a socket. So it should look like this:\nBattery(+) ... wire ... paperclip ... lightbulb ... wire ... (-)Battery
252338
Yes it is! i had this happen to me while living in an older house. Contact your electric company asap. I didn't and was liable for the extra on the bill. They told me that whenever you notice a problem, report it soon.  You'll save money but be out of what you've already used.
1072750
turn on the first 2 switches  let them sit for a little while.  then turn on the 1st and 3rd switch.    go into the room right away, if the bulb is hot but off that means it was the 2nd one (because the switch is now off but it had to be on)  if the bulb is cold still (not really hot) it was the third one because the light just turned on and the 1st one didn't turn it on at all  if it is not on and the bulb is not hot at all it was the fourth because you never touched that switch  it was on and hot then it was the first because it was on long enough for the bulb to get hot.  \n\nso... when only the 1st and 3rd swith was on (after turning off 2)\n1=if it was on and hot\n2=if it was off and hot\n3=if it was on but cold\n4=if it was off and cold
896004
hahaha LOL!!! therz no bulb!!!
789610
http://www.gardenersnet.com/bulbs/elephantears.htm
372780
If the bulbs are intact, I wouldn't worry.  The powder is probably dust from something in the room.\n\nFluorescent bulbs should be taken to a household hazardous waste day.  They contain mercury (but only on the inside).\n\nMost communities accept hazardous waste either at the waste station or at specific sites a few times a year.  You can call whomever picks up your trash and recycling and ask them about hazardous waste.
1137293
Zero. They won't do it. Engineers are too busy to change light bulbs and it's beneath them. Just one and he/she will tell you.