Does StopWatt actually help with flickering lights or is that just a coincidence?

I kind of wonder if it’s just the placebo effect, but I guess if the lights are bugging you less, that’s a win either way.

I think the flickering thing is probably more about your brain wanting to see a change than the device actually doing much. Those lights are usually just reacting to stuff like your fridge or AC kicking on, and a plug-in box isn’t going to rewire your whole house. But if it makes you feel better and you’re not out a ton of money, it’s not really hurting anything either.

I’d say it’s probably doing something, but not for the reason most people think. I noticed a similar thing with a dimmer switch in my living room that used to buzz a little, and after plugging one of these in, it just stopped. Could be the surge filtering cleaning up whatever noise was going on. Either way, if the lights look better to you, that’s all that really matters.

I’m not sure if it’s the StopWatt or just a coincidence, but my garage light doesn’t flicker as much when the washer runs now. Could be anything, really.

I’d bet the flickering thing is just coincidence. Those lights are usually just reacting to whatever the washer or fridge is doing at that moment.

I noticed the same thing with a little desk lamp in my office that used to flicker whenever I turned on a fan in the next room. It’s been a lot steadier since I plugged one of these in. Could be something, could be nothing, but I’m not complaining.

I agree with pixelnomad that flickering has a lot of possible causes, and that's the part worth separating out. If the flicker only shows up when the fridge or AC kicks on, that's often noise or a small dip on the same circuit, and a plug-in filter could plausibly take the edge off there. But if lights flicker all the time or across the whole house, that's more likely a wiring or connection issue, and no plug-in box is going to fix that — so it's worth noticing when exactly it happens before deciding.