How much power is used to turn on a floro light as compared to running it?

Question

I have heard that you can run a floro for 1 hour with the amount of power it takes to turn it on but I don't really believe it. Can you help?

Answer 1

You have the right idea. It does not take more power to turn on a fluorescent light than to run it. However turning it on and off a lot will reduce the life of the ballast and so the rule of thumb for turning off lights is as follows:

Standard incandescent: turn off even if you leave the room for just seconds.

Compact fluorescent: turn off if you leave the room for 3 minutes.

Standard fluorescent: turn off if you leave the room for 15 minutes.

These rules maximize the economic benefit to the user by balancing the extra energy cost with the longer life of the bulb.