Why Do My LED Light Bulbs Flicker or Make a Humming Sound?

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Calgary Lighting Products is commercial wholesale distributor of lighting products. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, they serve Southern & Central Alberta and Southern British Columbia.

[@PierreBourgault1]

Thanks for the video! Is changing the dimmer switch easy? And also, will keeping the old dimmer switch cause any other issues than the humming i am hearing?

[@0Dont0Blink0]

I have 2 of the Lutron Diva dimmers which you recommend, and after trying several brands of led flood lights, have come to the conclusion that the dimmer switch you are recommending is the likely cause of the flickering. However I'm willing to give it one more shot. If I purchased bulbs from your site to go with the switch you recommend, would you guarantee them not to flicker when dimmed?

[@andrewh1751]

Ive been told leds are capacitive load oppossed to incandescent which is resistive load. So if led lamps are flickering in a dimmable circuit (retro fit mains lamps to replace existing incandescent lamps) then it could be due to the total amount of led lamps in the circuit (say 21 x 3 watt led lamps on a chandelier light that is on its own switch total draw is 63 watts capacitive load) then putting a load correction device in series to give some resistive load should help reduce the flickering. Does this sound about right?

[@FemiAdebayo]

Many thanks. Very useful information. Solved the problem

[@nn47301]

What does it mean if the light flickers and buzzes and its NOT on a dimmer? This happens to the ceiling light on my walk in closet and its not on a dimmer.

[@jimevans1809]

Thanks for the info. I've had a problem with some LED bulbs purchased it Ikea. I was using them over my workbench in a couple of simple lamps. No dimmers, but there was an almost imperceptible flicker that gave me incredible migraines! Sorry to have returned to incandescent, but my headaches have cleared.

[@latifjamani89]

+Yoshio Tamiya Don't feel bad for going to incandescent s, give it some time and try the LEDs again and perhaps a different source of higher quality ones.

[@jimevans1809]

Latif Jamani Switched to Cree LED bulbs recently. Much easier to work with. I still find the shadows created more pronounced than with incandescent bulbs, but the trade-off is worthwhile and it gives me an excuse to dd another light source to my bench. Thanks for your advice.

[@riteshkumarranjan978]

Please any one help me, I am talking about led panel light, when we used one led light of 12 or 9w then ok but when 2 or more are connected in parallel then getting flicker. please help.

[@KYJA696]

very helpful

[@polinaprivis4490]

Thank you helped me resolve my issue!

[@latifjamani89]

+Polina Privis You are welcome

[@patricktabone2501]

Hi Latif, may i ask you why my led flicker. I have 4 Chandaliers with 37 bulbs 3 Watts in each Chandelier . The dimmers i have is 200W on each circuit.. All works fine when i switch on one, when i switch the 2nd OK too,BUT When i switch on the 3rd and 4th , the bulbs are difficult to Control. Any Suggestions?

[@latifjamani89]

+Patrick Tabone That is a bit of a funky situation. there may be some electrical distortion or interference in play. That is tough to isolate and resolve. Perhaps changing the dimmer switch may help, try the lutron or leviton line, they are the best in the industry.

[@nawazwaseem2219]

My LED's have started flickering. It's only started happening after a year? I don't have a dimmer switch and I don't have a transformer either. It seems to stop flickering for a while when I take them out, clean the connectors and then put them back in? So strange :/

[@latifjamani89]

+Nawaz Waseem It sounds like a defective issue in the driver part of the LED bulb or not enough lamps on the switch. This issue is common with lamps, hope you kept your receipt

[@poopoolarson333]

Was the flickering effect in the video on purpose? It made it kind of hard to watch.

[@Pube83]

Why do my recessed LED lights only flicker when I dim them to say 50% or less? I installed everything by the book/code, probably better than an electrical contractor would have. I re-did the entire lighting in my open kitchen/dining/TV room with two banks of four Lithonia LED cans (on their own Lutron CL dimmers), undercab LED sectional lighting (installed a standard duplex outlet in a cabinet and linked and ran all wires through cabinets), along with a chandiler over the table and pendants over the breakfast/bar ledge and sink. Everything works great aside from the LED cans that flicker when i dim them. Should I just try new dimmers?

[@latifjamani89]

+Pube83 In the lutron dimmers, there is a little dial on the side which is a trim level setting, play with this to set the floor level to just above where is starts to flicker. I am not clear if all of this is on one switch, but the ideal is to have between 40% and 90% of the switch load running. So be sure there is not too little draw coming through, eg a 100w max switch with only a 10w draw coming on it.

[@JSMcustoms]

Been using LED bulbs for a while. But I just had an interesting problem? One of them went out, but started working again when the light switch was cycled (turned off, then on again). It's on a standard switch, not a dimmer. What's going on here?

[@latifjamani89]

+JSMcustoms It sounds like the bulb is having a life crisis, lol. I would say that seems like a defective symptom, should be covered by warranty. Or perhaps try putting in a new switch, some of the old switches allow current leakage which slowly drains the bulb life.

[@JoeyGonzalezFineArt]

Very Useful. I bought a plug in Dimmer switch with the LED Bulb. Yup. Problem solved but not fixed.

[@latifjamani89]

+Joey Gonzalez Glad to hear, but now something else has come up?

[@okita_anew]

We installed LED recessed lighting in our basement. Initially we paired them with a dimmer switch that Home Depot said was compatible, but the lights buzzed. The electrician then removed the dimmer switch and replaced with a plain rocker on/off switch. The lights still BUZZ. Not all the lights buzz, and some lights will buzz one day but not the next. What is happening and how can I make the buzzing stop? Also, when we finished the basement, we replaced our entire electrical panel with a larger capacity panel in order to compensate for the additional room and bathroom in our new basement.

[@latifjamani89]

+Jen Shimada Hi, few different reasons for the continuous buzzing. The bulb itself is causing the buzz. Additionally, if there is not enough total current draw then that may result in some flickering and humming. There may also be some 'current leakage' These things are tough to pinpoint and can be costly to investigate so tread one step at a time.

[@HuyNguyen-us3vc]

Does flicker harm to your eyes? when I test with a camera, I saw it flick like crazy...

[@latifjamani89]

+Huy Nguyen Cameras amplify the flickering, like looking at a computer screen on TV. The flicker can bother the eyes from annoyance, nothing harmful unless it is over long periods of time.

[@inuqienankh3801]

Why are my four (4) brand new LED tube bulbs 'flickering' like the emergency turn signals on a car? I don't have any dimmer switches anywhere in my home. Help! Thanks in advance.

[@latifjamani89]

+Inu Qien Ankh HI, could be current leakage in the system, inconsistent current to the socket, the light switch needs changing. Good luck

[@HannaPesca]

Most of my LED bulbs flicker...especially right when they are turned on and none of them are on dimmers.

[@MaxxUS08]

+HannaPesca Same here. It's irritating, and I'm going back to incandescent.

[@nonexisting4602]

HannaPesca same that's how I ended up Herr and its brand new! but probably depending on the bulb because I got two types from two different company's like I said there new so could be incoming soon 😂

[@davidwinn8492]

Ok. I have two rooms with the same bulbs and dimmer switches. In one room I have a single led bulb that buzzes. Just one bulb. If I dim the lights it will stop buzzing. I don’t have any problems in the other room. I swapped the bulb for another one and it stopped for a while but returned. Any suggestions?

[@Oblama]

My LED lights flicker when the switch is off... The bulbs are not dimmable. I don't have a dimmable switch

[@MrTmc1252]

Pierre ...the dimmer switches today are user friendly..but most people get nervous if its not a single pole location...meaning used for one light with two wires.if you hear humming after following the steps and turning off circuit breaker..you may have another issue from loose screws to one of a few things that a local electrician can help with. better safe than sorry..good luck

[@justanothertuber3216]

i dont have a dimmer. Still humming and flickering

[@MrTmc1252]

it is humming because it doesn't know the words to the song!!!! 😸😸😸😸

[@goochfacekilla]

BigCoop 17 Savage....why you trapin so yard

[@theschmoxbox]

Wrong, my existing system doesn't even have dimmer but the LED lights flicker. I guess flickering is the result of a high frequency power supply.

[@Inmate533]

My LED bulbs are flickering when I use a regular single pole non-dimming switch. All of the bulbs operation on a dimmer are fine. This flickering only started happening with bulbs I’ve bought in the past 2 years, which makes me think the newer bulbs are cheaply made pieces of junk. These are all bulbs purchased from Home Depot. The original bulbs that don’t flicker as well as the new bulbs that do.

[@davidhay782]

This video is dumb -- all you ever see are people on the internet telling you to perform 15 hours of research and then pray that your dimmer+bulb configuration works (which it likely won't). How about the manufacturers stop the idiocy of trying to cram a completely new lighting technology into 100 year old wiring situations and pretending it will work properly? They should just admit that trying to send dimming information to a sensitive electronic device via the same two wires that are also providing AC power is a stupid idea, and tell everyone to get on board with separately wired dimming controls like in commercial lighting setups. I would gladly run a pair of additional low voltage wires from my switch to the fixture if it means I can escape the insanity of these dimming compatibility nightmares.

[@soundknight]

Amen

[@inspiralight]

Why Do My LED Light Bulbs Flicker? Simple answer: They provide light only while electrical voltage is applied to them. If the electrical pressure is not 100% continuous (if the voltage "flickers") then the resulting light will flicker. With incandescent bulbs, even if the voltage "flickers" the lighting filament remains hot long enough to cover the brief gap in applied volage so the resulting light remains continuous.

[@Tyee2]

100% true

[@MonaichFother]

+inspiralight I'm going to try putting one halogen in my fitting which may "soak" up fluctuations.

[@borys444]

Good explanation...

[@ramanandasaralaya9319]

They flicker because, When your output is not pure DC.Nothing else.Put filtering capacitor for dc output.

[@gtfkt]

That's all bullshit. They'Re flickering because they're on AC (alternative) current, LED's are basically switches that only work when current goes through them. Therefore the LED's on AC turn on and off 60 times/second. LED's need a DC converter to stop flashing, or be run on batteries, which is DC (direct current).

[@JuLAndroid]

+konaye4ever2 On 60 Hz AC, if my math is correct, the switching frequency is 120 Hz because the zero is crossed twice per period. Moreover, the LED flickering is silly to be explained with "just" the AC, because incandescent bulbs flickers quite less, barely noticeable and they are also on AC. A better explanation would be, that the LED are very *fast* switching devices, while the incandescent bulbs are known to have a great latency, so it takes time for the bulb to stop emitting light even when the power is off and thus the less pronounced flickering effect. Otherwise I'm totally with you - the explanation in the video sucks.

[@Reneivan]

x he says that if LED bulbs are being used on an exciting system, say a smart home then yes, you need dimmable LED compatible bulbs. I had the same issue and works fine with dimmable LED bulbs but it flickers with non-dimmable LED

[@MrTmc1252]

just kidding of course..

[@jasonschurman9657]

Captain Obvious !!!!

[@latifjamani89]

+Jason Schurman Obvious to some, oblivious to others, lol. Cheers, no has called me Captain before:)

[@dnsmithnc]

Some LED light bulbs are junk. The electronics in them are too fragile or something. As I write this, my sometimes flickering LED light bulb had just quit for good. 20 thousand hours my ass.