Why Fluorescent Light Bulbs Flickering?

Have you seen fluorescent light bulb flickering? Sure does. But have you ever wondering what the cause of this flickering are?

There are several factors that contribute to flickering in these light bulbs which are:

a)    Frequency

In reality, the lighting bulb is always flickering. This is due to the frequency of the power supply itself. Let say, for 50Hz of power supply, the bulb will be in OFF for 100 times in every second due to the a.c signal reaching zero. This flickering however is non-identifiable by using naked eye.

b)    Ballast

Ballast that is equipped in the light fitting is to control the flow of electricity from a power source to the light source. This ballast purposely to deliver a steady flow of electricity to the light bulb and when this steady flow is disrupted, the bulb will flicker.

c)    Improper bulb and improper installation

Mismatch of voltage might occur once improper bulb being use which results flickering. Bulb that not tightly fitted can cause this flickering problem.

d)    Wear & Tare

As the years goes by, the phosphor coating inside the bulb that reflect ultraviolet light will deteriorate thus flickering occur.

e)    Weather Effect

Fluorescent Bulb is filled with gas. This gas basically requires enough temperature (higher than 50 Fahrenheit) in order to fully light up the bulb.

f)     On certain cases, you might influence flickering when the bulbs are operated on a dimmer switch.