An overheating light fixture should be considered an emergency that calls for quick intervention by a professional electrician. It’s serious enough that it can lead to an electrical fire in your home.
Your light fixture can overheat if you’re still using incandescent bulbs with a wattage that’s higher than your lamp or other fixture can handle. Overheating is also caused by bad wiring and electrical connections that come loose. If you’re using fluorescent lights, overheating can result from failing ballast. Here are some signs of overheating.
Heat That’s Not Just From the Bulb
When you touch your LED bulb, and it’s too hot to keep your hand on, it’s overheating. Other signs of overheating are heat on the wall around a sconce and hot electrical outlets.
Burn Marks
Another unmistakable sign of overheating is burn marks. You’ll most likely see these black or brown marks on the light bulb, on the lamp or on an outlet. If the light is in a ceiling fixture, you might even see burn marks on the ceiling.
Color Changes in an LED Light Bulb
Another sign of overheating is an LED light bulb’s color switching from white to yellow or even green. This is because heat can destroy the phosphor layer in the bulb that allows it to create white light.
A Burning Smell
The smell of burning plastic is an unmistakable warning, and a fishy smell can be another sign that the electrical system is overheating. If you smell either of these, call a professional electrician right away.
Burnt Wires
Burnt or frazzled wires around or inside the light fixture are also signs of overheating. You might also see burnt wires around the base of a lamp.
Dimming Lights
Overheating can also cause your light fixture to grow dim. It can also give off a buzzing sound or flicker.
Constantly Tripping Circuit Breaker
An overheating light fixture can cause the breaker in your circuit box to keep tripping. This tripping can protect your home from a fire, but if it happens frequently, you need to call in an electrician.
Short-Lived Lightbulbs and Fixtures
An LED lightbulb should last for years, but overheating shortens its lifespan. If your LED bulbs keep overheating and you keep needing to replace them, call an electrician for help. The light fixtures these bulbs sit in are also at risk of failing if they overheat.
Call Us if Your Light Fixtures Are Overheating
Light fixtures that are overheating may be a sign that your electrical system is in trouble. This is a problem that can’t wait. For electric service, including service for LED lighting, call our professional electricians at Fisher Electric of Santa Cruz, CA right away.
