Your power company has, (or should have), recording
equipment that is installed at the meter to measure
flicker. If it doesn't show at the meter, then they
tell you it is inside and is your problem. Flicker
can also be called 'voltage fluctuations', or even
something else, but it falls under the term
'power quality', and they should investigate it.
Check with your neighbors and see if they are having
the same problem, so as to support your claim when
calling the power company. If one of the buisnesses
has a large load coming on that would cause this,
then ask if you can be put on a separate transformer.

thanks,
I did call the Power company and they will be looking at it. I did call it a power quality issue.

It is more of a fluctuation than a "flicker". I wish I thought of that term for when i called them.

We are on a corner, so our neighbors actually have different power lines. They often lose power and we never do so we are on a different line. I know that the businesses are on our line however because when there was a car accident a few years ago (someone ran into the pole and blew transformer by the business) we lost power.

Last evening/night I noticed lots of fluctuations. This morning before work I didn't really notice any. Does this mean that it is most likely not our house ?

I will look this evening. I do not know where the closest transformer is. I do not believe it is in front of our house though.

The types of businesses down the street vary, but one of them is a machine shop. I wonder what their hours are.

-renee

It appears that the power company just came out and replaced the line going to our house from the pole.

They did not ask us and while doing this drilled a couple new holes through our siding, so we are very upset.

When i called I asked them to check the pole because we think we have power quality issues.

So, our problem is not any better than the other day and now we have more holes in the house. They did not seem to monitor the power going into the house.

I did check and we do not seem to have a transformer near us. It is a couple houses down from ours and our electric pole appears to be the last one. They then start on the other side of the road two houses down. Maybe the wire goes under the the ground to the other side of the road?

Anyways, I am very upset about this. I just want to find out if it is OUR problem or theres! Is that so hard? Our house was built in 1850 and we do have updated electric, but maybe there is something funny going on and it needs to be fixed. The electric company didn't seem to concerned when I called them but I wasn't able to talk to a technician.

If you don't have the problem early in the morning,
it might indicate that, because the businesses are
not open yet, their loads are causing the problem.
How about at night, after the businesses are closed?
If the power company ignores your problem, then
check with the state agency that regulates them,
as that usually get the ball rolling.

it happens in the evening also and late at night (around 10pm)
maybe it happens during the daylight hours also but it is hard to see. We have windows and ambient light would make it difficult to see the fluctuations.

Some of the businesses do appear to be open late, as we see cars there. I don't know what they are doing.

I am wondering if I should try to get an electrician to come in and figure out the problem. However this may be difficult? If it is the power companies problem I wonder if I can stick them with the bill. Doubt they would pay it though.

-renee

Hi Renee,

I am surprised nobody has mentioned a loose neutral as being a possible cause, although I suppose the flicker ought to be more constant if it were - flickering as you described is often caused by one or more neutral wires being loose, it can cause problems so you should get it looked at, it could be one or more wires in light switches or power outlets being loose, so it's probably a job for a pro. Mention you think you have a loose neutral, they'll know what to do. If your switches/outlets were wired by the 'backstab' method (quicker/easier but less reliable) then this is quite possible.

would a loose neutral cause a problem for all the circuits in the house?

We don't have any "back stab" sockets in the house. My husband hates them. He worries about them coming loose! I guess he may be right!

As far as I understand it, a loose neutral could affect all the circuits, remember even if they are on separate breakers, they all tie into one at the switchboard. You can still have a loose neutral without backstabbing, it's just that it's a connection method that makes loose connections more likely. Worth getting it checked, if all clear then take it up with the power co I guess...

Nah, a loose connection on one circuit won't affect another unless they're multi-wire (two circuits sharing the same neutral wire), and this may well be the case. Say what, a multi-wire circuit? Steady there, by their deeds shall ye' know them; rather, by the number of conductors leaving the panel together in one cable. If you decide to open your panel (see below), we'll talk more about this later.

(Btw, this might simply be a motor cycling in, creating a brief spike in the current draw; annoying, and curable, but nothing to lose sleep over. Could be a loose, or intermittent hot connection too. Could be a number of things.)

Begin your investigation at the main panel. Remove the cover, and trace every connection on the troublesome circuit(s). Now then, if the idea of removing the cover of a main panel sets you to hyperventilating, I suggest you call a professional.