I have noticed for about a week now when my heat pump compressor kicks on it makes my street light blink.
My street light is NOT connected to my electric service meter. I pay for the pole and light but not the power it consumes. I live on dead end street. obviously the electrical service is all tied together somewhere on the line but it bothers me that the street light is not tied to my service meter but is still seeing a surge from my compressor. Im a little concerned this may be leading up to a bigger problem.
what could the issue be? capacitor going bad? how worried should I be?
The power to your house and to the street light are all tied together in the power grid. It is most likely that the power company has a large load on their power lines and the startup load from your compressor is dipping the power down far enough to affect the street light. This dip can be negated by having a start capacitor added to your system.
Since the power dip is also most likely causing your compressor to have to work even harder on startup, and I'd definitely recommend having one installed.
I did notice a slight flicker in the house But I have just started watching things when pump kicks on. Its definitely not as noticeable as the street light flickering.
I thought the pump had a starting capacitor. I got guy to replace contactor 2ish years ago and I saw the capacitor we even talked about it for a sec.
Call the local utility company and point the problem out to them. Have your system looked at by a Pro. They could install a Hard Start Kit. This will help you.
Call out power company to verify incoming voltage.
I had one w/ similar issues on a private street & when I checked- customer only had 193v (instead of 240v) at panel.
may be a corroded connection at the pole and causing this also may have a draw down affect on your compressor
call the power company and have them check out a conferm thier side of the meter
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