Does a burnt out bulb cause the other bulbs to burn out faster?

Question

I have a ceiling fan that has three (3) sockets. If I have one bulb that is burnt out, will the other bulbs not last as long if I don't replace the burnt out bulb? How about if I were to just remove the burnt bulb but leave the socket empty (aside from the danger of sticking my finger in an empty socket)? I am trying to conserve energy and money. References would be helpful in the answer. Thanks!

Answer 1

Christmas tree lights are different. "Normal" lights in your house are essentially all wired in parallel. The ceiling fan lights you mention are wired in parallel to each other. It makes no difference if one bulb is burnt out. Christmas tree lights come on a string and are wired in series. Where the bulbs in your ceiling fan are all rated for 120 Volts, the Christmas tree lights may be rated for around 6 Volts. In order to run them off the 120 Volts coming out of the wall socket, many Christmas tree lights are wired in series so that each one individually is seeing a 6 Volt voltage drop. In early light strings, maybe 40 years ago, if one light burnt out, then all of the lights would stop working. Then they started putting resistors in the Christmas tree light bulbs, so that when one goes out, the others still work. This may change the voltage that is dropping across the remaining bulbs. That could have an adverse impact on the life of the remaining bulbs.

Ceiling fan has one light out, no worries.

Christmas tree light bulb is out, replace the bulb as soon as possible.

Answer 2

A burned out incandescent bulb can occasionally have an internal short that will use some power until it again 'fails'. This risk is not high in a stationary socket.

But leave the bulb in to keep both your fingers and flies, dirt, out of the socket.

Or replace this bulb with low wattage mini-flourescent and leave the others turned loose so they do not draw current.

Answer 3

I have never heard of this. If you are looking to save energy, visit www.2thegreenway.com for tips. Also if you go to www.groups.yahoo.com and search for "The compact" thats a really good group if you are looking to "compact".

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Actually if one bulb goes out, there is a chance that it will create a domino effect and every bulb in your house will simply implode and leave shards of glass everywhere. Therefore if one bulb goes out it will probably result in your house becoming the equivalent of a minefield. Also it will cause your neighbor's bulbs to go out too and they will be very angry with you. So don't let your bulbs go out.

Answer 5

one has nothing to do with the other, when they burn out, they burn out

Answer 6

yes it makes the others short out faster because of the wiring you should change it fast. it's also bad for your health it can let poision into your home