Does turning Fluorescent lamp on consumes much more energy than keeping it on for hours ?

Question

my friend told me that the turning on process of a fluorescent lamp consumes much more energy than running it on for hours and that it is better to keep it turned on because turning it off and on everytime i need it consumes a lot of energy.

is that correct ?

Answer 1

Check out www.energystar.gov for a specific answer. For a quick answer the answer is no. it is true with the long tube flourescents in office buildings but the new cfl's have a quick start ballast that allows for switching off and on with no problem.

Answer 2

the primary fault with switching them on and off is the destruction of the phosphor coating of the inner surface of the tube. turning on requires a voltage surge if done often would use voltage.

Answer 3

not true

Answer 4

Only if you are flipping it on and off every few seconds.  And the mordern fixtures start up a lot quicker so you don't need to warm them up to get good light.

Answer 5

They did this one on mythbusters it isn't true.