We are quite frustrated in our home because the new light bulbs we are being forced to buy do not work. They cost nearly $10 each and don't work in any of our light fixtures. For a split second they will come on and then they go to a night-light dimness of no use at all. No wonder they are "energy efficient". Does anybody else have this issue?

We haven't had all great experiences with these "energy efficient" bulbs either. But as to your specific problem, Google said that maybe you need bulbs with higher lumens. I doubt that it has anything to do with outdated wiring or something like that.

I hope you get it straightened out. This can be a very dark time of year indoors without adequate lighting.

I do not have this problem, sometimes it takes a few minutes to come bright but not what you are having trouble with. As Marian pointed out, you have to check the lumens, you have to make sure that is says, example, if you are replacing a normal 100 bulb, you have to make sure the newer bulb states it is the equivalent to 100 Watts. Also you have to be careful to NOT buy the one that says : Soft Blue light bulbs, they will give less brightness which are OK for bedrooms but not for anything else.

I try to match the lumens and watts. I check the bulb I take out for the lumens and watts and use a new bulb with the same lumens and watts. I did some Googling but didn't find much out. If I use a bulb with higher lumens it will be more wattage won't it? That's how I am reading the bulbs/packages. I don't know how big of a wattage I can put in each of my fixtures. I am very much concerned about outdated wiring and/or fixtures being the issue.

I definitely wouldn't put anything with higher wattage in an old fixture. Some of the ones I have are TOO bright. And I'm not sure where you are getting them that they are $10 each! None of mine are any where near that. The wattage is what is going to be a lot LOWER in order to get the same amount of LUMENS. For instance, here is a pack of Sylvania bulbs that are equivalent to the lumens of an old 60 watt bulb. A package of 8 bulbs is about $10.

Light Bulbs

My brother shops at Target and Jewel (Albertson's) and he told me a 2 pack of GE bulbs cost him $13.00 (not sure which size or if that matters so I did round up). It might as well be $1,000,000,000 since they just don't work for us!

I will add, I don't know where he got that price. I don't see them being that much when I Google, but it is what he told me.

I have experienced both problems - a dimmed front door light on a motion sensor which made me think the wiring was faulty (to the extent that I dismantled the light and replaced the sensor, probably needlessly), and front gate lights which virtually resemble flood lights (not necessarily a bad thing)...

oldbroad, I still buy the old incandescent bulbs at smaller Ace Hardware stores or if you have a local mom and pop hardware store. They don't make them anymore but they can still sell them. They always have stock. Just buy a box, they are cheap and you won't go bad.

That's a good tip, Ana. I will remember that.

Ob, old wiring is definitely a concern where I live. I don't why I was assuming it wasn't one at your place. We have had wiring fixed here and there but no doubt we could use a complete overhaul.

Ana, he had bought up all the old ones he could find but I think we only have some 60 watt ones left. They serve their purpose for me in a couple of places but he also uses them downstairs so they are going fast. I know that he mentioned last week that the small hardware store nearest our house (I think it was an Ace) was no longer there so maybe that was in his mind to try, otherwise not sure why he even noticed it. I do believe they are not supposed to sell them anymore though and are probably just selling off the stock they have, so, prepare! I just Googled where I can buy some. I will show him later so maybe he can find some more.

Marian, I definitely have old wiring and fixtures. Some of my fixtures do not work, including two newer ones. I use a lamp in one area of my kitchen and in the other area I use the small light above the sink and the one on the stove hood. Even the lamps in my living room are old. They used to belong to my maternal grandmother.

Do you know what kind he bought? LED? Florescent?

The first thing I did when I got this 100+ year old farmhouse 32 years ago was replace the ancient wiring. None of it was even grounded, so it was kind of scary to think of the danger it posed. When they opened up the old plaster walls, some of the wiring had even been stripped bare by mice! Now everything is properly grounded and I can used modern appliances and lamps and electronics with much fewer worries.

Those old incandescent bulbs are getting harder and harder to find as technically they are no longer supposed to even sell them after August 2023. We switched to all LEDs years ago and would never go back. Haven't had to change a bulb in all my fixtures for many years.

LEDs.

There may be a problem if you bought dimmable JED bulbs. I did that once by mistake, and they would flicker sometimes. The regular LEDs don't flicker, and are especially good for any overhead lights you may have because they last forever.

Almost forgot to come back to this after I asked that question, oldbroad. I wonder if LadyK isn't right - especially since your brother said they cost so much? Did he get dimmable LEG bulbs by mistake? I love my LEDs for just that reason - I don't have to change light bulbs any more!

I see that we have some that are dimmable BUT the one I tried the other night in the light above my sink was definitely a nondimmable. I can't be certain what kind we tried a few weeks back in my hallway but it did not work and did the same thing, coming on for a split second and then going to night light mode.

I know the lights in my living room lamps and in my bedroom do that flickering thing all the time. I don't know for sure what bulbs are in those. I just try to believe that somebody is trying to communicate with me.

I just Googled about the difference in the dimmable and nondimmable. We don't have dimmer switches at all so...

And Google says that the dimmables should work fine even if you don't have dimmer switches.

Oldbroad, "should" being the operable word! When I did a search for "why do my LED bulbs go dim?" I found a bunch of hits. Some do relate to old/faulty wiring.

https://www.duttonbrown.com/blogs/advice/7-common-reasons-led-bulbs-turn-on-dim-and-how-to-fix-them

Thanks Draclvr. All of that points to my old electricity. If the bulbs started dim and then brightened, I could live with that, but they don't brighten. I guess I'll be buying more lamps as each bulb/fixture gives out.

It does sound like a brownout of your electricity, Oldbroad. That can affect everything electrical in your house. For safety's sake, a call to your electric company is probably a good idea. We had a brownout many years ago, and it had to do with a loose connection from the telephone pole to our house. A chewed or worn wire can also cause it.

Thank you for that information LadyKestrel! I'll keep it in mind.

I've never experienced a brownout, but I asked my Union Electrician step-son and he said what you're describing oldbroad should be investigated ASAP. These new bulbs use much electricity to work and should never dim like that.

Great (sarcastically said)! Thanks Drac. (sincerely)

And excuse my typo, oldbroad. Step-son said the new bulbs use much LESS electricity and should never dim like that. Sheesh... my elderly brain some times...

Thanks for clearing that up. I was a bit confused but thought that you must have left a word out.

Maybe you can ask why something that uses less electricity would do that but something that uses more electricity does not do that. That seems backwards.

When it comes to electricity, I know nothing. But I'm going to ask him your question. I did virtually all of the work when I gutted this old house and restored/renovated it. Except for wiring! Nope! I draw the line at wiring! I wanted it all done by licensed professionals any way.

I don't blame you Draclvr, I don't know how it works where you are but here in Canada or at least in Ontario when a house hits a certain (OLD) age some Insurance companies will insist that you get a qualified Electrician to Certify that you Wiring is up to speed if not, the Insurance company will refuse to insure you. It happened to a friend of mine, his house was more than 70 years old and was told to so......
He also had to hire a plumber to certify that his water pipes where up to speed.....