What to do if your bulbs keep blowing

Changing the same light fitting over and over? You're not buying bad bulbs. In most Kenyan homes and shops, bulbs that keep blowing are a symptom of a power problem, not a lighting problem. Here's how to tell, and what to do.

First, the quick checks

Before blaming the grid, rule out the simple stuff:

• Wrong bulb rating. Make sure the bulb voltage matches your supply (240 V, not a 110 V import).
• Loose connection. A bulb that flickers then dies fast can be a loose holder or wiring, get an electrician to check the fitting and connections.
• Cheap, low-quality bulbs. Very cheap LEDs and CFLs often have weak drivers that fail early. Try a known brand once to compare.

If you've checked these and bulbs still keep going, especially in more than one fitting, the cause is almost always the power itself.

The real reason: unstable voltage

Your supply is meant to sit around 230 V. Around Nairobi it commonly swings between 200 V and 260 V, and upcountry it can spike higher or sag toward 170 V. When the voltage rises above what a bulb is designed for, the filament or LED driver runs too hot and burns out fast. Repeated spikes and surges do the same thing, a little damage each time until the bulb fails.

A tell-tale sign: your lights visibly brighten and dim through the day or when big appliances switch on. That's the voltage moving, and your bulbs are paying for it. The same swings that kill bulbs are quietly shortening the life of your TV, fridge and chargers too.

What actually fixes it

• A voltage stabilizer (AVR). This is the proper fix. It holds the voltage steady before it reaches your bulbs and everything else, so they only ever see the correct level. A servo unit keeps the output within ±1% regardless of what the grid does. Once it's installed, the constant bulb-replacing simply stops.
• Surge protection helps against sudden spikes but does not correct sustained high or low voltage, so on its own it won't stop bulbs blowing from over-voltage.

For a whole home or shop, a single stabilizer sized to your total load protects every circuit at once, which is cheaper and simpler than trying to protect fittings one by one.

What to do next

1. Confirm the pattern, are bulbs failing in several fittings, and do your lights brighten/dim? That points to voltage.
2. Use our sizing tool to estimate the stabilizer size you need from the things you run.
3. Or contact us, tell us what's failing, and we'll recommend the right unit.

Not sure whether you even need one? Read why do I need a voltage stabilizer? for the plain-English version.