Is the flickering and outage in my Airbnb caused by overload or is my husband onto something with his ghost theory in our 90-year-old house?
Asked by Bradley Holt 
6 months ago
Last Updated: June 20, 2024
Hey, does anyone here know a thing or two about wiring or lighting fixtures?
I recently installed a picture spotlight in my Airbnb and ever since then, the guests have been complaining about the house lights flickering and going out in the evenings when all the lights and TV are on.
Do you think it’s just a coincidence or could this little light be causing an overload?
Another odd thing is that neither the electrician nor my cleaner could reproduce the outage. They would turn on all the lights and run the dishwasher with no issues. The only difference is that they are at the house during the day, while the guests always report the lights flickering and going out at night.
P.S. My husband thinks it’s a ghost 👻! The house is 90 years old.
I’m following this thread because I have a similar issue with my front porch lights and can’t figure out why they flicker.
Do you happen to know what size wiring was used?
You mentioned ‘night,’ but are we talking about nighttime after 7 pm or before? Also, how’s the weather where you’re located? Do you use gas or electric heat? If gas, you can ignore this question. o check the voltage in your main panel. When experiencing flickering, black to white and red to white readings should be around the same, give or take a volt. Anything more than a 5-volt difference indicates an issue with the neutral. Then test black to red; the sum of the first two readings should match. If not, there might be a bad connection on the lower leg.
Evening yesterday.
I got lost when you started talking about checking the voltage. I might have to get an electrician to take a look
It sounds like you’re experiencing this issue during peak load times. I suggest calling the power company first to see if they provide a free service call in your area. It’s always worth getting a free check before paying for a service call.
Possibly a bad driver or loose neutral in the LED lights.
When you mention ‘go out,’ are you referring to the breaker tripping? Flickering is often due to a malfunctioning or incompatible dimmer switch with the lights. It can also happen when a heat pump or AC unit starts up. I’ve even observed washing machines and 3D printers causing flickering.
If the light is an LED fixture/bulb, the switch should be compatible with LEDs