Light Bulb Suddenly Got Brighter (7 Reasons Why)

 

Have you ever been sitting in a room with a light on and realized that the light has suddenly gotten brighter?

This is something that happens quite often.

Many people assume the light bulb has an issue with it.

Although this can sometimes be the case, it is not always true.

We have come up with seven reasons a light bulb could suddenly get brighter and create a much different level of lighting in your room.

 

Light Bulb Suddenly Got Brighter (7 Reasons)

 

1. Energy Saving Light bulb

 

If you have energy-saving light bulbs, it is quite common to notice that they will get brighter at times.

These light bulbs are designed to keep your electric bill a bit lower.

Sometimes, they will only turn on at a very low level, and eventually, they will brighten.

This is a good thing if you are only using the light bulb for a minute, but when you really need light, and you need it quickly, it can be a bit annoying.

Essentially, you will turn your light on, and you will have to wait for it to really light the room up.

This waiting period can be a bit difficult to deal with at times.

However, after a few minutes, the light bulb should begin to function at full capacity.

An energy-saving light bulb is usually a very good choice to make for your home, but you must be ready to deal with some fluctuations in light.

If you have a certain area where you know that you are going to need bright light quickly, like an entryway, make sure that you use a different type of light bulb.

You won’t want to have to wait for a few minutes to be able to navigate your way through the house.

If you aren’t sure what type of light bulb you have, look for a model number somewhere on the bulb.

The model number is easy to research, and it will tell you whether or not you have an energy saving light bulb in place.

 

2. The Bulb Is About to Die

 

When people talk about light bulbs suddenly getting brighter, the most typical reason is that the light bulb is about to die.

Inside a light bulb, there is a filament, and when this filament starts to thin out, the light bulb is getting closer to the end of its usable life.

One of the best ways to test this is to turn the light off and then turn it back on again.

Most of the time, this will be just enough to break the filament, and the light bulb will go out for good.

You will see this happen with all types of light bulbs, and it is common on Christmas tree lights for indoors and outdoors as well.

If you are looking at your house and a strand of lights suddenly starts to get very bright, you are probably going to need to replace an entire strand very soon.

Light bulbs don’t last forever, and it’s good to keep a backup or two around the house for when this should happen.

You will notice that this does not happen with the LED lights.

The LED lights are going to last much longer and use less electricity as well.

Sometimes if you look at the light bulb, you will be able to see that it is about to lose its power.

If this is the case, you can simply dispose of it and install a new light bulb.

For light bulbs that are about to die, when they first get brighter, you probably will only have a few seconds before the light bulb is done completely.

 

3. Electrical Problems

 

If you notice an issue with your light bulbs getting brighter, it could be that you are experiencing some electrical problems in your home.

Chances are there could be a wiring issue or even an animal that is getting to the wires of your house.

The best way to fix this problem is to first eliminate any other issues it could be and then pay to have an electrician do a check on your home.

You will want to take the light bulb out, replace it with another one, and see if this does anything.

If you find that the replacement of the light bulb does not make the issue any better, chances are the electrical problem could be a real possibility.

Try to think about any other potential issues you have been experiencing with your electricity.

If you have had to flip breakers lately or have noticed other fluctuations in power, chances are you may have an electrical issue that needs to be handled.

If you are in an older home, sometimes wires start to lose their connection, and they will need you to replace them or put in new connectors.

Electricians have the appropriate tools to help you fix these issues.

 

4. Electricity Fluctuating in the Home

 

Sometimes electricity will fluctuate in a home because of the usage.

For instance, if a person is cooking dinner, another person is ironing, and someone else is watching TV, there is a lot of electricity being used.

This electricity needed will have to be pulled from the total allowable electricity for the home.

If it turns out that the home is having a hard time pulling all the electricity that it needs, then chances are some appliances and electrical products will not work as they should.

This means that a light bulb may stay kind of dim while other appliances are running.

When an electrical device is suddenly turned off, the electricity will increase for the rest of the lights in the home.

This could make the light bulb turn brighter all of a sudden.

Essentially, the bulb is getting the full amount of electricity that it is allowed.

If this is the case, you will probably notice that your electricity goes up and down quite a bit, and you will see the light changing brightness often.

You may want to have an electrician come out to your home to determine if there is anything you can do to fix this issue.

It could be that there is an unknown drain on your electricity that is giving the house a smaller amount to work with.

Simply having this checked out could give you more power and less fluctuation of power in the home.

This is typically seen as an issue with older homes that have a lot of people living in them.

Sometimes the electrical system will need to be completely updated in order to accommodate everyone and all of the devices that they use.

In today’s world, electricity is very easy to get, but a lot of it is needed for a simple day of life.

Years ago, the need for electricity would not have been as high, and that is partly why you see these issues with the lower quality electric service in older homes.

To test this theory out, try turning off the TV or unplugging the iron and see if it has any impact on the light bulbs in your home getting brighter.

 

5. Peak Usage Times in Your Area

 

In addition to peak usage times for electricity in your home, you will notice that there is peak usage in your neighborhood as well.

With people working from their homes, there is quite a bit more electrical pull during the peak times of day in some neighborhoods.

People associate power surges with storms, but this is not always the case.

There can be power surges at any time of day.

When the workday is in full swing at that four or five o’clock hour, you may not have the same level of power in your light bulbs.

When the power requirements start to decrease for the day, you may notice that your light bulbs are suddenly getting brighter.

Of course, there is going to be no real way to check this issue, but it is a common one that many people have.

You should try to consider the times of the day when you notice the light bulb suddenly getting brighter and see if it correlates at all with the potential power surges in your community.

It is also essential to protect your home and your outlets with surge protectors.

Surge protectors can help to ensure that the power in your area does not end up damaging or burning out some of your devices.

When these fluctuations in power come through the lines, they can do some serious damage to electronic appliances.

If you don’t install a whole-home surge protector, it is a smart idea to at least use one for your printer and computer.

These two things tend to be very vulnerable to these surges in power.

They will very likely have long-term issues if you don’t protect them.

Those who live in areas with frequent storms are used to this concept, but it is not just lightning that you should be protecting your appliances from.

 

6. Make Sure It’s Not Just Your Eyes

 

Have you asked anyone else in your home if they see the light bulb getting brighter?

Light is a funny thing as we all see it differently.

There is no way for you to know how another person in the room is perceiving the same light that you see.

However, sometimes it is a good idea to ask if anyone else notices that the light bulb is getting brighter.

If you are the only one who is experiencing this, you may want to have your eyes checked.

If your eyes are having a hard time processing light and determining the strength of the light, you may have some underlying issues.

These issues can be something as simple as needing glasses, or they could be more complicated.

A quick check with an eye doctor will help to confirm this for you.

Before replacing light bulbs and calling electricians, it is a good idea to make sure you are not the only one having this issue.

Overall, it should be pretty easy to tell if it is just your eyes.

This likely won’t be a random issue because you will probably notice that the light fluctuates quite often for you, and it is not isolated to one light bulb.

If your light bulb is about to die, the issue will very likely be restricted to the one light.

If it’s your eyesight, you are going to notice the problem continues.

 

7. Was the Bulb Recently Cleaned?

 

Last but certainly not least is an issue that many people don’t consider when they think of a light bulb getting brighter.

Sometimes when a light bulb was just recently cleaned, it can get quite a bit brighter.

Light bulbs are a very common place for dust to collect.

Dust tends to like this spot as it is not often disturbed.

If a layer of dust starts to collect on the top of the light bulb, it will actually start to reduce the light of the bulb.

To fix this issue, many people clean the bulb and then realize the room looks much brighter.

You can think of the dust on the top of the light bulb almost as a filter.

It works to filter out some of the light and make the room seem a bit darker.

If you can notice this difference quite distinctly, chances are you need to clean your light bulbs a bit more often.

The difference between a dusted and undusted light bulb should not get so bad that you feel blinded when your home is clean.

 

Will Bright Lights Fade My Fabrics?

 

One of the concerns that people have with lights that get too bright is the fading of fabrics.

If a light bulb is bright for a few minutes, it is not going to have enough of an impact on your furniture.

However, if you are constantly exposing your fabrics to very bright lights, especially sunlight, you may notice that it will affect the color of the fabrics.

One of the best things that you can do about this is to use LED lights.

LED lights offer protection from UV light that will fade fabrics over time.

If you purchase a very high-end sofa and are worried about its color fading over time, it is a good idea to use UV-blocking shades and LED lights in your home.

The LED lights have a higher upfront cost, but they will offer lots of efficiency and some great benefits for your home.

 

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons that you will notice a light bulb getting brighter.

The quicker it gets brighter, the higher the chance that the light bulb is about to go out.

If the light bulb gets brighter gradually, it points to some other issues that could be causing it.

Overall, a light bulb suddenly getting brighter is nothing to be overly concerned about, but you will want to have some understanding about it.

Again, if you think that you have a real electrical issue, it is always best to call in a professional.

Electricity is something that most homeowners should not choose to mess with.

Many people get hurt trying to fix electrical issues without having the proper knowledge of how to get this done.