Do you find yourself replacing the bulbs in your lighting fixtures quite often, even though it seems like you had already put in a new bulb very recently? Not only is that a waste of your money, but constantly having to switch out bulbs means throwing more of the old ones into the trash and harming the environment.

If you want your bulbs to last longer, you have to figure out why they’re burning out so fast in the first place.

Your Home Has High Voltage

The more electricity (voltage) that is running to your bulbs, the brighter they will burn and the faster they will burn out. You can test your home’s voltage yourself to see if it’s too high — it shouldn’t read higher than 125 — or, better yet, ask your trusted electrician to safely test it for you.

Your Circuit is Tripped

If the circuit powering those lighting fixtures has a blown fuse or is tripped, the circuit may have a short and not power the bulb. This can be caused by a number of things, such as a defective plug or cord or socket short— any and all of which will need to be fixed before your reset the breaker.

The Bulb Has a Depressed Socket Tab

Each light bulb has a “hot” connection (the small metal tab at the bottom of it) that allows electricity to flow to the bulb. If that tab is too far into the bulb, it may not connect properly and the bulb won’t work. Typically, you should be able to push the tab up a bit to fix this issue.

Your Bulbs Overheated

Not every bulb is best to use with every lighting fixture. Check your bulbs and fixtures to make sure they are both appropriate voltages. If you’re using bulbs that are a higher voltage than your fixture is meant for, they will get hotter and burn out more quickly.

At Ace Solves It All, we are happy to take care of all of your electrical service needs. We offer comprehensive solutions and products for the home, including wiring, lighting, circuit breakers, surge protectors, and smoke detectors.