I'm kind of curious about other areas versus our antique grids. Flickering lights are not only common on geo start-up, but are suggested as normal by the (monopoly) utility companies. Since it doesn't happen in every home it does beg the question.
Please cast your votes:
Flicker- Common  or  Uncommon?
Thanks,
Joe

Joe, I agree, it's common in Michigan.
Masoud

Uncommon in Utah

Uncommon in Eastern Utah

Uncommon in TX.

Best regards,

Bill

Uncommon in FL, at least in newer houses.

A specific question for the utility is KVA rating on their stepdown xformer to house or houses - they may be cheaping out on it at expense of customers. I'd fight this since I doubt the dips are much good for the geo or anything else running at the time.

May need data (such as power analyzer logs as well as ruling out equipment on customer side such as panel and main conductors) to battle utility.

We've been through the damage question (a seperate issue) with customer worried about electronics. It's not a spike or surge or extended brown out so it's not consequential to the equipment. The LRA of a 5 or 6 ton pump is high enough that many old homes are not provided with required service. We of course mitigate that on our end with proper material. We also try to talk with a utility service planner (which is like pushing a rope) to have them verify size and capability of transformer and wire upstream of meter. Once the power company signs off on the job there is little to be done. Further, they would be responsible for equipment damage if everything on our end is done correctly.
3 and 4 ton heat pumps generally don't have this trouble as the utilities sizing practices accomodate these nicely.
Age of homes, size of equipment, geographic location all seem to contribute. Let's not forget the black out of the entire NE U.S. a few years back due to aging utility (affected area reached within a block or so of my home which is W of most of my customers). This is the epitome of our lousy grid.
Engineer do you have experience (1st or 2nd hand) with this happening in older homes in your area?
J

I had the same problem when my Waterfurance started. I have a 4 to 6 ton spilt unit. My home is 3 years old with 400 amp service. I called the power company and they sent up a engineer. He had a bigger transformor installed on the pole, which fixed the problem. If that hadn't worked, he was talking about installing bigger wires coming from the pole to the breaker box. My service is underground for about 130 feet. I live in Ky.

We also just built last spring; we had the power company run 400 amps underground to the house but only connected up 200 to the main panel (just in case we needed a second 200 panel). For the first month or so when the heat pump would start the voltage would drop in to the mid 90's and sometimes the microwave and other clocks would reset and the TV screen would shrink momentarily. When I first called the power company they just said, well you have a lot of equipment running and that was normal. I kept complaining until they finally put a logging meter at the house. When the technician came to pick up the meter I happened to be there. The technician just said "You’re a good customer, and you will be getting your own transformer." We had been sharing a transformer with four neighbors and our house was the last on that line.

We did get our own transformer right in front of our house and now it doesn't dip below 110vac, much better.

In thinking about this does anyone make a "soft start" or variable speed compressor? It is amazing how much this helped at work with big motors.

A first check would be the connectors in the various parts of the electrical supply loop. With the extensive use of ALuminum conductors there is plastic flow in new cabling after a short while that can produce a high resistance at the connection. If you have a dim on start condition, call the power company and ask that they check/retorque the connections in the meter trough and entrance panel. For the most part it is a one time deal. You will probably have to get your installer to do the rest of the circuit.

Dick

Joe,

No experience in FL other than irritation with all family room lights flickering in time with wife's 10 Amp clothes iron in a tract house, but that was all about a single 15 Amp circuit to a dozen lights and receptacles.

My sister and her two 12 KW pottery kilns camped at my Mom's 1964 New England house - 150 Amp service. They cycled on and off via thermostats, and either one would dip the whole service by 4 Volts - quite noticeable to me, if not the rest of them - I had to write up an 'if-then' list of various scenarios letting them know not to use ovens or clothes dryer with Kiln(s) on.

I just now recall I had a 1954 Florida 3/1 as a rental and it lacked AC when I bought it. I added a 3 ton SEER 13 air source (high end in 1995), and I remember it dipping the lights a bit. Most of Florida's few older homes are small, so require only 2-3 tons. Central air (obviously) came to Florida early on - the state did not experience meaningful growth until after AC become widely available.

Utility company in one instance told homeowner it could be our ground and typically geos have their own line from transformer. I suggested the only thing typical at DTE is that the head doesn't know what the tail is doing.