Compact Florescent Bulbs - Turn off or leave on?

Question

I heard that they use a lot of power to heat up - is it better to leave them on for an hour or turn on and off 4 or 5 times?

Answer 1

The startup surge of energy only lasts a few seconds. The pay-back time for the extra energy is like 3.5 minutes. You are much better off leaving them off when not in use.

Other fun myths:
http://facilities.uoregon.edu/cps/energy/myths.html

Answer 2

They do NOT use a lot of power to heat up. But they will burn out sooner if you turn them on and off too often. The reason to leave them on is to make the bulb last longer and not to save electricity. You may have heard that they last much longer than a regular bulb. This is only true of you don't turn them on and off too often.

Answer 3

They shouldn't use more power than the average light bulb because they are energy efficient. However, you should always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Answer 4

While these bulbs save more energy than your regular, evreyday bulb, turning it off when you're not in the room or using it is the best way to go.

They do start out more dim at first, though, but there is not reason to turn it on and off constantly.

Answer 5

are you leaving the room for just a few minutes? or longer...
if longer then about 10 minutes...turn it off...
shorter then that, leave them on..
also dont turn them on at all if you have enough natural light to get the job done, I am amazed to see lights a blazing in a window filled room during the day...
when there is plenty of natural light to get by

Answer 6

I would always turn them off when leaving a room.

Answer 7

I wouldn't recommend using CFLs in an application where they are turned on and off frequently and aren't left on for extended periods of time.

Answer 8

This was tested on a Mythbusters episode. Turn them off - they'll use less power.