Originally Posted by
tkrussell
To eliminate any guessing, my suggestion is to hire a good "service" electrician with good troubleshooting skills and has direct access to and knowledge of power recording instruments.
The strategy will be to connect at least two recorders for a period of time, no less than a week, possibly up to a month.
One recorder should be at the main service panelboard, and another connected out at the end of one of the circuits affected that has experienced the lamps burning out prematurely.
The result recordings will show a numerical and graphical image of the actual voltage and amperage, along with any voltage sags and swells ( dips and spikes in laymen terms) that may be occurring.
This will be similar to having an EKG done on your heart, measuring and recording any (depending on the specs and quality of the power recorder) unusual events, such as consistent higher than normal voltage, or voltage swells and transient spikes, that may be damaging your lamps.
While the lamps may seem to be the most noticeable and frustrating event you have, and not too costly to deal with, what needs to be considered is damage being done to other items in the home, such as refrigerators, motors, and electronics.
Having one recorder at the service panel will help isolate if the incoming power is the cause, and having one at the end of a problematic branch circuit will help identify if the problem is in the building, such as the loose neutral Strat mentions. To help identify this problem, note which circuit(s) the lamps are being affected.
You may find that the incoming voltage, while still within tolerance, is normally and consistently high. Standard voltage in USA supplied by utility companies is 120 and 240 volts. Each utility lists in their the tolerances dictated by Public Utilities Commission, typically +/- 5%.
120 volts plus 5% is 126 volts. Incandescent lamps are very susceptible to premature burnout when subjected to higher than rated voltage.
Did the Perry Farrell suggest to use 130 volt rated lamps?
The wattage issue you mention is probably something similar to that he found a 100 watt lamp in a fixture only rated for 60 or 75 watts maximum. This is not going to help much, as the max wattage rating has to do with the heat created by over size lamps. While entrapped heat is one culprit that lessens incandescent lamp life, this is not as frequently noticeable as the events you are incurring.
Areas or buildings close to utility substations are typically subjected to consistent higher voltages,and still within industry tolerances. 130 volt rated lamps help deal with this issue.
Consumer Note, most "Long Life" light bulbs are really 130 volt lamps. Since most homes get 120 volts if lucky, usually less, lamps will last longer.
So, in my opinion, without doing the "EKG" as I explained, all that is happening is guessing and looking for the needle in the haystack.