Dimming lights

[PaulXmas]

Ok another question...

This year when I ran one of my sequences Wizards in Winter the lights in the house would dim everytime the lights flashed.

I was told by an electrician a sub panel would solve this problem.

Is this true or would I be wasting my time?

[jimswinder]

Sounds (looks) like you are maxing out your power, so if you are planning on adding any more lights/contollers a sub panel may be in order.

You may have also plugged in your controller into the most used circuit in your house.

Do you have any openings in your breaker box for some more circuit breakers?

If not, they do make breakers where you can fit two into one slot.

[PaulXmas]

I don't think I am maxing out my power and I won't be using much more power.

The curcuits I was using had very little on them.

It got so bad we would shut down everything we could but still got the dimming lights on that song.

18 AMPS flashing every 6 times a second I think.

[jimswinder]

What is the AMP rating on the circuit you were using?

More than likely it was only 15 Amps...maybe 20 Amps...

20 AMP is usually for Kitchen outlets or appliances...

But I could be wrong..

[PaulXmas]

Oh sorry....

18 AMPS is the total power my light draw when they are all on.

I use 3 curcuits for everything.

Around 7 - 8 on two that have next to nothing on them and the rest (LEDs) a third one that has back light and a couple of cameras.

I did ask a couple of electricians if a sub panel would solve the problem and they said yes but keep in mind they want to do the work.

[jimswinder]

Still depends on the Amperage of the breaker and what else is on it...

if it is a refrigerator, it will pull a lot of amps when it is running...

If you are running 8 amps on a 15amp breaker, that only leaves 7 amps for whatever else is on it...and if you are seeing your lights go dim, obviously you have the lights "on" in your house "on" at the same time you are running your show, possibly overloading that circuit.

Again, if you have open slots in your breaker box, you could run a couple of dedicated circuit breakers for your controllers. A breaker is a lot less than an electrician adding a sub-panel.

EDIT: Do you actually know what else is on the circuit you are using for your controllers?

[Frank A.]

Hi Paul

first question is what size main breaker 100amp 200amp xxxamp

if 100amp recommend upgrading service

if 200amp should be able to balance lights over two or three circuits

sub panel will give you additional breakers(circuits) that can be utilized

at a remote location away from main breaker ---

second question when lights plugged in does only one breaker

turn off all lights

might be worth the effort to make sure lights are on different breakers(circuits)

attached sketch is general layout of my wiring power and communications

main panel in basement sub panel in garage opposite end of house

Frank A.




Attached files

[PaulXmas]

jimswinder wrote:

Still depends on the Amperage of the breaker and what else is on it...

if it is a refrigerator, it will pull a lot of amps when it is running...

If you are running 8 amps on a 15amp breaker, that only leaves 7 amps for whatever else is on it...and if you are seeing your lights go dim, obviously you have the lights "on" in your house "on" at the same time you are running your show, possibly overloading that circuit.

Again, if you have open slots in your breaker box, you could run a couple of dedicated circuit breakers for your controllers. A breaker is a lot less than an electrician adding a sub-panel.

EDIT: Do you actually know what else is on the circuit you are using for your controllers?

all the circuits are 15 AMP
1 of the circuits has nothing
1 has our IP phone and a TV once in a while
1 has 3 12 volt DC cameras and one low wattage light (one of those twirly ones).
I would have to turn off THREE breakers.

[PaulXmas]

Frank A. wrote:

Hi Paul

first question is what size main breaker 100amp 200amp xxxamp

if 100amp recommend upgrading service

if 200amp should be able to balance lights over two or three circuits

sub panel will give you additional breakers(circuits) that can be utilized

at a remote location away from main breaker ---

second question when lights plugged in does only one breaker

turn off all lights

might be worth the effort to make sure lights are on different breakers(circuits)

attached sketch is general layout of my wiring power and communications

main panel in basement sub panel in garage opposite end of house

Frank A.

My main service is 100 AMP
I assumed I need to upgrade to 200 AMPS but the electrician said the sub panel would solve the problem.!?!?!?!? I really don't want to pay for something I don't need.

[TJ Hvasta]

I've got a sub-panel planned for this summer... If you do any work in your garage (table saws, routes, hi-amp tools) I'd add a sub-panel.. which is why I am..

[ErnieHorning]

PaulXmas wrote:

This year when I ran one of my sequences Wizards in Winter the lights in the house would dim everytime the lights flashed.

I depends on how much the lights are really flashing. A very small amount is normal, especially something repetitive like Wizards. No transformer is perfect. You put a load on it and the voltage will drop a little.

That said, the first time I ran Wizards I could tell what part of the song was playing from the lights inside. It turned out to be my breaker channel. After poking around with a volt meter, I found that tweaking the incoming 220 volt screws cured the problem.

Of course I can't recommend that anyone go into their breaker panel themselves, just to get a qualified person to check it.

[Max-Paul]

Paul,

A sub panel might or might not fix the problem. Voltage drops can occur if you have something that restricts the current flow. The problem could be a loose connection. Or a wire that is to small of a gauge. I have to wonder what your total load is in amps per leg. I have to wonder about the neutral wire, and what shape it is in. Is is well terminated? I once saw an aerial run that had holes blown in it from lighting strike. This is the old kind where there are two hots with the neutral that is strands wrapped about the two hots like a form of armor.

I would address loose and dirty connections first along with a review of the actual wires gauge and length. Then I would consider an upgrade to 200 amp service. But this would mean the feeder from the pole to the house -> meter -> breaker panel might need to be up graded also. I am just not sure of the sub panel.

[PaulXmas]

Max-Paul wrote:

Paul,

A sub panel might or might not fix the problem. Voltage drops can occur if you have something that restricts the current flow. The problem could be a loose connection. Or a wire that is to small of a gauge. I have to wonder what your total load is in amps per leg. I have to wonder about the neutral wire, and what shape it is in. Is is well terminated? I once saw an aerial run that had holes blown in it from lighting strike. This is the old kind where there are two hots with the neutral that is strands wrapped about the two hots like a form of armor.

I would address loose and dirty connections first along with a review of the actual wires gauge and length. Then I would consider an upgrade to 200 amp service. But this would mean the feeder from the pole to the house -> meter -> breaker panel might need to be up graded also. I am just not sure of the sub panel.

Ya the electrician did appear to like the idea of dealing with our power company.

The wires to the outlets I was using were a few years old.

I added a sub panel for our hot tub so if that would do it I could handle it myself.

Changing the main panel I would want an expert.

It looks like that is the route I am going to have to take

[chadh]

I know that we have a 200 amp service on our house and a 100 amp subpanel along and also a 200 amp service on our barn with a separate line to the pole. Sometimes the lights in the barn dim to the music when only a few lights are on in the barn, but all are on at the house and vise versa. I would assume since they are on separate lines, it has to be that we do not have a big enough transformer. We will hopefully be calling the electric company this summer to check that out;

[Mike Manzara]

Waht size extension cord are you using to power the LOR controllers. And what lenght are they. If you are using less than 14 gauge wire and you are running 50 feet to your controllers then your resistance is very high which will change your amperage at the box. I always like to use 14 gauge extension cords to get to the appliance, if your run is longer than 50 feet then I would use 12 gauge to the controller.

[ErnieHorning]

Mike Manzara wrote:

Waht size extension cord are you using to power the LOR controllers.

You know, the discussion was about lights flashing in other circuits of the house, so the size of the wire in the extension cord isn't an issue here. It’s still a good tip though.

[PaulXmas]

Well it wasn't anything running through the controllers because I had a relay that turned 2 circuits and off. One channel on the controller operated the relay.

So it was like flicking a switch off and on.

I installed a sub for our hot tub (never can tell when the hot tub turn off or on) so I am thinking I will try that route this year.