What is the risk of using a 100 watt light bulb in fixtures that are rated for 75 watt bulbs only?

Answer 1

All light bulbs are safe to use. They have under gone underwriters safety tests before that can be sold by the manufacturer on the open market. The reason that people use different size lamps is because of the difference in costs of operating the lamp. Remember the higher the wattage the higher you will pay for operational costs. Using a smaller lamp in a specifically rated fixture will cut down on the amount of heat that the fixture will have to undertake, but there again the fixture has been certified for the amount of wattage that is shown on the fixture's label on the amount of wattage that the fixture can handle. With that out of the way using a 40 watt light bulb in a 60 watt rated light fixture is safer than using a 100 watt light bulb in a 60 watt rated light fixture.

Using a 100 bulb in a fixture rated for 60 watts is dangerous. A 100 watt light bulb gets hot enough to deform or melt some of the components of the lamp socket and may cause a fire. It may be difficult to remove from some plastic sockets after it has been heated up and melted to the base of the bulb.

A fixture rated for 100 watts usually has a ceramic socket.

Answer 2

When a light fixture is rated for 60 watts, it means this is the maximum power its bulb socket and cover or lampshade can safely handle.

It is OK to use a lower rated bulb but not a higher rated one.

A 100 watt incandescent bulb used in a socket rated for only 60 watts will seriously overheat the socket: it is highly likely that the plastic components in it will discolor, deform and/or melt and the excessive heat could easily cause a home fire.

Sockets rated for 100 watt incandescent bulbs are usually made of ceramic materials and not plastic.

If the bulb is a low energy CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) the actual power used by the CFL itself should be used in deciding whether it can be used or not. (Don't use the wattage of the incandescent bulb that is equivalent to it to give the same light output.) So a 20W CFL bulb can be used in a 60W fitting even though it is equivalent to a 100W incandescent bulb, but you must always ensure that the CFL bulb will actually fit safely into the cover or lampshade without any physical stress to them - or to the bulb or the socket - and you must decide whether or not the CFL looks ugly in that particular light fitting compared to using a normal incandescent bulb! but CFL bulbs don't normally look ugly and they save energy, you pay less and the environment suffers less as well!

Answer 3

There is quite a risk if a lighting fixture is only rated for 75 watts then that is the maximum wattage that should be applied to the fixture. The manufacturer of the fixture has to get an inspection on the electrical device that he wants to sell. This is done through an underwriters that determine what the maximums the device will take by testing it until it destroys itself. With a lamp, different size bulbs will be installed and the results noted as to which wattage damaged the fixture. Bottom line when the lamp label states the bulb size adhere to that bulb.

Answer 4

Using a 100 watt bulb in a fixture rated for 75 watts can pose a fire hazard due to overheating. The fixture may not be able to dissipate the extra heat generated by the higher wattage bulb, potentially leading to damage or malfunction. It is safer to use bulbs that are within the recommended wattage range for the fixture.

Answer 5

It is safe, you have to double turn the switch to make contact.

Answer 6

Possibly could catch fire.At least ruin the lamp by it melting.Just use a florescent.

Answer 7

If the lamp is rated for the maximum bulb wattage, usually 150 watts, and there is a switch and base that accommodate the bulb you should be okay.

Answer 8

No.