Home electrical, dimming lights when using high energy appliance
Hi all,
When turning on a high energy appliance, such as a heater or electric toaster oven for instance, the lights dim a bit until the appliance turns off. It’s like there is not enough power to go around. Is this normal?
Additionally, and possibly a separate issue, I have noticed that when the neighbors’ heat pump comes on all of our lights dim a little.
We are second from the end of the electrical service on our road with the above mentioned neighbors at the end.
If it matters our house was built in the 1950’s though most of the wiring has been upgraded to contain a ground wire. The panel is an old Square D 200 amp panel. Virtually all of the breakers are split breakers, each serving two separate circuits.
I think all of this is probably normal but it concerns my wife. Perhaps there is too much on a circuit or I have read that there is an issue of load balancing which might not have been taken into account?
Thanks!
Bob H.
Replies
Nothing to worry about from a safety standpoint.
Your neighbor's HP compressor may have a shorter life. CFL bulbs a shorter life and incandecent a longer life.
Power company problem, not your house. POCO likely needs to install a larger distribution transformer for the neighborhood and possibly larger feeder wires. Contact them and complain.
Kinda normal, given the circumstances. It would be good to know, however, how much the voltage swings when a good-sized load kicks in -- too much voltage drop is hard on motors, and if the PoCo jacks up the voltage to compensate then you can have an overvoltage situation when the load is light.