Main Reasons Why do LED lights flicker when turned off?

People usually install LED lights to reduce the consumption of electricity and power bill along with getting enough light to do routine work. But sometimes they flicker even when they are switched off. 

Some of the LED lights make noise. If you are facing such issues then you should go through this write-up till the end as it will allow you to know why do LED lights flicker when turned off.


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LED light flicker in two ways- visible and invisible

Invisible flickering of LED lights is obviously not much problematic for the users as they do not see it but the visible flickering is considered harmful for their health. 

Visible flickering can cause health issues like epileptic seizures due to exposure to frequencies ranging from 3Hz to 70Hz. People suffer from the problem of photosensitive epilepsy due to visible flickering of LED light when they are switched off. 

On the other hand, invisible flickering can also cause symptoms like eyestrain, dizziness, migraines, headaches, sick-feeling and impairment of thoughts etc. In this situation, it becomes necessary to know why do LED lights flicker when turned off.

The 5 Reasons behind flickering LED light:

LED light bulbs and fixtures require electronic drivers to give you light. But some of them flicker even if they are switched off due to various reasons. Some of these reasons are briefly discussed here under to help you in understanding the problem and trying to get rid of it

  • Solid state switches used for switching on and off the LED lights usually leak a very small quantity of electric current. This small amount of current is not powerful enough to turn on your LED lights fully. So it causes flickering in the LED lights even when they are switched off. The leakage of current can be due to the design of the solid state switch or due to the aging of the switch. To avoid this problem you can change the old switch with a switch with advanced technology.
  • If you have installed an IR sensor on the circuit and still the problem of flickering LED light persists then it can be due to the accumulation of dirt or contamination inside the sensor caused by exposure to rain, wind and sunshine. Plastic joints of the sensor can get degraded due to exposure to natural elements to allow the entry of dirt and water with time. This can cause a flow of current between the contacts of the switch even if it is switched off.
  • A leakage between the capacitors across the contacts of the switch can also be caused due to an ignored circuit in the IR sensor. This ignored circuit works like a wire capacitance which resists the flow of current and allows some of the current to flow through the wire to cause flickering in the LED lights.
  • Some of the switches have a pilot light of neon, visible or invisible. This pilot light can leak some amperes of current through the LED lights to cause flickering.
  • The flashing of LED lights even after switching off can also be caused due to the residual electricity in the circuit.

Why do lights flickering and dimming in house?

When you switch on an LED light then the current passes through the circuit to turn it on. But when you switch it off, some of the current remains in the circuit which is not enough to switch on the light or ceiling fan and hence it flickers the LED light for some time.

Similarly, if the capacitive coupling of your switch is leaking then the current supplied by it will be very less than required to glow your LED light. This very low current can cause flickering of the Led light.

Moreover, internal leakage in LED bulbs is almost zero. So, when switching off the LED lights then a very small amount of current passing through its internal circuit remains in its forever. But it cannot glow the light fully, so it flickers


Why does residual electricity come through the LED light?

A small amount of current powers up your LED light to cause flickering, because either the resistance of the earth wire is too high or the neutral wire in the circuit is not earthed properly. In some cases, cables running side-by-side also take some power from each other through electromagnetic induction. The glowing in your LED lights can be caused due to this low level of induction.

Why does LED light glow with the residue of electricity instead of other bulbs?

LED bulbs create light with the current of a very low level due to the diodes in them which are not available in other bulbs. When a two-way switch is used to operate LED lights then the glowing of LED lights can be noticed more particularly.

How to stop led lights glowing when off?

The problem of flickering LED lights even when they are switched off can be solved either by ensuring that the wiring is earthed properly or by installing an anti flicker component or Zener diode. In both cases, you will need the help of a professional electrician.

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The electrician will check your circuit to find out the cause of flashing LED lights. In order to fix the problem properly, he will check whether the wiring is earthed properly or not. If that is the cause of your problem then he will earth your wiring to fix it.

If the problem is due to the too close installation of the cables then he will install Zener diode which will help in stopping the glowing of your LED lights due to fluctuation of voltage as this diode will regulate the voltage in the circuit.

The residual voltage in the circuit will also be blocked by installing a Zener diode. Thus your problem of glowing LED lights will be solved in a very cost effective manner as it is very easy for an electrician to install a Zener diode.

Thus, the information provided in this write-up will help you to know why do LED lights flicker when turned off and hoe it can be solved.

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