brown outs

[gram_vaz]

first of let me say that i'm not an electrician know nothing about these sort of things. My father is an electrician, he's coming over soon to help see what is the matter. i came upon this site while searching for info about this problem on google and hope someone here can help me.

my house has been experiencing brown outs. something that has bugged me for a while is the lights in my house. the lights will dim every now and then for a second or two. but it only seems to affect the lights. my computer monitors and televisions and all other electrical devices in my house aren't affected. why only are the lights in my house affected but nothing else in my house? can brown outs damage anything? like my computer, monitor, or television? or is this something that just affects the lights?

[ September 04, 2004, 01:21 AM: Message edited by: gram_vaz ]

 

[bphgravity]

Re: brown outs

You could have a serious problem that does need to be checked by a licensed and insured electrical contrator and even possibly the electric utility company.

The "brown out" events you describe are series of voltage sags and surges that may only be noticeable in the lighting but can and will damage the electronic components of appliances over time.

At the same time, this could simply be a minor voltage drop issue from heavier loads turning on and off, causing the lights to dim and brighten periodically.

In any case, please get your home checked ASAP.

[ September 04, 2004, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: bphgravity ]

 

[jimwalker]

Re: brown outs

most likely your other items are being affected but you will not see it.Computers can tolerate low voltage to the power supply.I am sure your dad can fix it.If not tell him about this forum and we will help

 

[gram_vaz]

Re: brown outs

i think it only happens when the washer or dryer is on. i think it happens because of the load on electricity. it's like the lights will change in level of brightness sometimes for a second or two or they will sort of flicker really fast for a split second. is this normal? this has been happening for years at my house. nothing in my house has ever broken down. i don't know why it started bugging me one day. my apc ups doesn't seem to detect any irregularity in the electricity. well, anyway, my dad is coming next sunday. i'll see what he says.

[ September 05, 2004, 04:05 AM: Message edited by: gram_vaz ]

 

[charlie]

Re: brown outs

Gram, you may have a problem with the electric utility's supply. They will generally respond without a charge to you and it could be that they have an undersized transformer, secondary that is too small, or the transformer is to far from your home. I recommend that you give them a call.

At this point I am locking this thread. The reason is that you are a homeowner and have been given some really good advice. We welcome your dad to this forum and wish you good fortune with getting your voltage problem taken care of.