While we were cleaning out a friend's garage I turned on a heater fan. I didn't take a good look at it but it has a digital display, thermostat, and I'm pretty sure it's a wire element type. It started getting dark while we were cleaning and my friend was moving something around and told me to turn off the heater so that the light would get brighter. I turned it off and the fluorescent light in the ceiling got way brighter and stopped flickering.
I haven't had a chance to look at the breaker box yet, but from what she describes to me, it sounds pretty bad. She says that if you turn too much stuff on in the house, the breaker trips. I'm assuming that the whole house is only on a few circuit breakers.
My question is, why would the heater fan cause the fluorescent light to flicker and dim, and can I expect this same behavior from incandescent or LED bulbs (non-dimmable)? Is this indicative of improper wiring in the house, or just too much going through a single breaker, or is it maybe something with the (probably) shaded-pole fan inside the heater causing noise in the grid?
Best Answer
This is indicative of overloaded circuits and/or improper wiring. Check the voltage at an outlet both with and without load. Recommended range for a nominal-120 VAC line is 110-124 VAC for Range A.
If the voltage drops below that, or if circuit breakers trip frequently, remove loads (especially a heater, which can draw 15 A) or rewire the house. Some older houses had aluminum wiring, which makes poor contact at connections with age. Don't risk a fire caused by overheating circuits.