Do the brightness of your lights fluctuate?

[Leros]

As devices in my apartment turn on and off (fridge, A/C, washer, dryer, etc), the intensity of my lights go up and down a bit. Is this normal?

 

[busydude]

As devices in my apartment turn on and off (fridge, A/C, washer, dryer, etc), the intensity of my lights go up and down a bit. Is this normal?

I am no electrician.. but AFAIK it is pretty normal. I have seen that all my life in every house I lived.

 

[Matthiasa]

Yes it's normal...
Something about those things using a lot of power so drawing a lot of current which causes the voltage to sag a bit.
(when starting up might be a little more then a bit)

 

[LTC8K6]

Normal. Motors take a lot of current to start and then use much less to run. So there is a voltage sag when the motor starts. Lights are sensitive to voltage, and so they react to the voltage sag with a drop in light output.

 

[Leros]

I figured it was normal, just wanted to make sure. I know voltage drops when high current devices start up, but I wasn't sure if the lights dimming was normal or just because I had shitty power into my apartment).

Thanks guys.

 

[SparkyJJO]

My one light really dims a bit when my window AC unit kicks on. They're on the same circuit. I measured it and AC off I have 120V, AC running it drops to 115V. Of course when it first turns on it drops lower, which is expected, but I didn't expect it to maintain a drop of 5V.

Crappy wiring, I think it is a 15A circuit and 14 gauge wiring in the wall. No ground on that circuit either.

 

[NL5]

You shouldn't really get a noticeable drop, but it does happen if the lighting is on the same circuit as a higher current device. Voltage drop is dependent on current - higher current = greater drop.

 

[Leros]

My one light really dims a bit when my window AC unit kicks on. They're on the same circuit. I measured it and AC off I have 120V, AC running it drops to 115V. Of course when it first turns on it drops lower, which is expected, but I didn't expect it to maintain a drop of 5V.

Crappy wiring, I think it is a 15A circuit and 14 gauge wiring in the wall. No ground on that circuit either.

Yeah. I've seen lights drop momentarily before when something like an AC turns on, but mine actually maintain the drop. That is what concerned me.

 

[BoomerD]

Not really...except when the basement electric chair gets used...Ol Sparky really makes em dim...

 

[mmntech]

If your lights don't dim when you start your computer, you haven't overclocked enough.

 

[moshquerade]

Yeh, they fluctuate more with each beer

 

[Greenman]

All this time I thought I had a tumor.