Is it better to leave fluorescent lights on in a room or is it better to turn on and off every time you leave?

Question

i was just wondering. the room i am refering to is my breakroom at work.

Answer 1

I don't know which is better but my old job had a motion sensor on the light switch. The light woulg go on automatically when someone came in the room, and went off after 15 minutes if nobody was there.

Answer 2

well if the room is frequently used, keep the lights on but if its used less frequently (as the case appears  to be) switch the lights off when not in use.

the reason? well fluorescent lights are started with a capacitor and that capacitor draws energy that is far more (RELATIVELY) than what the fluorescent light would consume (they consume between 20W and 60W). so if the light is frequently turned on and off it'd be a wastage of energy.

Answer 3

It saves energy to turn them off whenever you leave (it doesn't require much extra energy to turn them back on).  However, the more times you turn the bulbs off and on, the shorter their lifespan will be.  So it's a tradeoff either way.  

I would say if people are going in their frequently, it's probably better to leave them on.  If there are long periods when nobody goes into the breakroom, it's probably better to turn them off.  My office has a motion sensor which automatically turns them off if nobody has been in the room for a certain amount of time, which is a good solution (see link below).

Answer 4

Turn it on & off.

Answer 5

I believe the Mythbusters (on the Discovery Channel) did tests on this very subject. What they found is that it is better in every instance (for every type of bulb, including flourescent) to turn the lights off, because they consume much more energy while on that it takes to turn it back on once its off. Of course, if people are walking in an out of the room very, very frequently, it may be a good idea to leave it on during busy times, like lunch time. But turn it off during other times of the day.

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