Lights pulsing dim then bright

1874

I was in someones house and the lights were pulsing dim and bright, it was a very consistent pattern

The person present didnt seem to notice or care, but it was very obvious to me,


What would cause such a thing? they live near a few businesses, but I don't think they're the kind of places that might be using significant loads.
I thought businesses that might use a lot of inductive loads, which I thought might cause such a thing, had to have measures to limit that so it doesn't have a negative affect on the supply grid.


Is there anything else that might cause this?
I don't think anything in the house wiring/installation could cause this.

Could it affect electrical items? ie might it shorten their lifespan or be a hazard,
My understanding was that variation in voltage, would cause changes in current, which could have negative affects. I think this might be caused by possibly caused by frequency changes, potentially caused by loads locally?


Is there any hardware that could smooth out such a thing? short of having some kind of UPS, would a small scale piece of equipment that is used for power factor correction be applicable? could it be determined if it's required and at what cost.

walshtipp

Are these lights on a dimmer switch?

1874

walshtipp wrote: »

Are these lights on a dimmer switch?

No, some were cfls and Ive heard they can be problematic, but found it very strange and noticeable, if it was in my own home Id looking to sort it promptly, as I thought it might indicate a fault somewhere, like a loose wire which could cause problems, but if no problem was located in the circuits wiring, I could only conclude its some external influence, maybe usage jn the locality or on one phase (possibly not balanced usage, due to some activity, welding or an excess of motors in use? locally) but Im not sure if that can be fixed, hence wondering if there is electrical hardware that might be normally used in a commercial or business setting that could be used to smooth out pulses.

Im aware of voltages and frequency but its been a while since studying it, just wondering if it is voltages surging due to usage/demand locally, surely that would affect amperage and could that subsequently affect the longevity of domestic electrical items? or worse, highlight weaknesses and maybe cause problems.
I ask all this for very specific reasons, ie mainly concern.

blackbox

Do they pump their water from a well?

1874

blackbox wrote: »

Do they pump their water from a well?

No