Re: Help..light bulbs keep burning out
Your house Panel has two sidess. An "A" side and a"B" side "HOT". It also has a neutral (wraped in white tape in most cases). The neutral wire feeds up the service riser along with the A and B "HOT" to the transformer sittting on the utility pole which is grounded to earth at the base fo the pole. Inside your Panel there should be a ground wire (usually bare copper) connected to the same lug the neutral is on. The voltage between "A" side to neutral, is 120v (plus or minus 10v. In more cases minus). Between "B" side to neutral, is also 120v. Between "A" and "B" is 240v (plus/minus a few).<br /><br />Every house in the U.S (and Canada) has 120/240v capabilties. You said, all of the lights are on different circuits. Are you sure? In older homes, all lighting loads are on one circuit. Very common.( If they are, disreguard explaination below). <br /><br />Your problem may be you lost a neutral somewhere.<br />Example: suppose you have a light in the kitchen connected to "A" side of the panel and a light in the living room connected to "B" side of the panel. Both on different breakers. The two lights may share the same neutral back to the panel. If that neutral is loose, disconnected, whatever be the case, the two lights are now in series (daisy chain) which means the voltage going thru them is 240v. Case #1 if the two bulbs have different wattage ratings (unequal resistance), the one with the lowest will be exposed to a higher voltage than 120 and will burn out faster. Case #2 if the bulbs have the same wattage ratings, the one in a cooler location will have a lower resitance thus increasing the voltage going thru it and will go out sooner. How long it will last depends on temp. differ between the two spots. <br />The problem is worse if all the lights are in parallel and series with each other.<br /><br />If all your appliances/tv/radios are working fine, the problem is within the light circuits only. It is common to isolate light circuits from power circuits. You need to get a "qualified person" to test the voltage in one of the fixtures. wait a few minutes and have him test it again. Take down readings. Have him do the same on a few more lights. ( a qualify person should know how to do this without being told). Then come back and post the result. " ELECTRICITY CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. SHOULD NOT BE DEALT WITH BY AN UNQUALIFIED PERSON.<br /><br />Based on your infos., the situation above is a likely conclusion. <br /><br />Low voltage will not lead to premature burn out. It actually does the oposite.
