Energy saving lightbulb question

allie226

Hi, this is my first post, hope it's in the right place! My question is this: does it cost more to leave an energy saving light bulb on, say for 1/2 an hour than it does to switch it off and back on again? Hope this doesn't seem like a silly question, thanks for your help.

tigermatt

Hi allie226,

See if this website is helpful: http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12280

Scroll down to the last section at the bottom of the page.

tigermatt

tigermatt

P.s. Don't forget, no question is ever silly! It even says it in the site title:

Remember there's no such thing as a stupid question, pls be nice to all MoneySavers!

tigermatt

economiser

It will almost certainly be cheaper to turn the lamp off. Clearly if the frequency of operation is high then you will reduce lamp life but I have yet to see any evidence that leaving lamps on is cost saving. If you are not leaving it on for long periods it is doubtful if energy efficient lamps are an economic propostion anyway.

allie226

Thank you very much for your advice, it makes things a lot clearer for me!

Thanks again!

gromituk

The chief cost of these things seems to be their unreliability. Some makes seem to go on for ever, and some seem to fail at depressingly regular intervals. When you buy mail order you don't know what you'll get, and even if you do, there's no guarantee that the design won't have changed.

tigermatt

gromituk wrote:

When you buy mail order you don't know what you'll get,

Including lost and damaged in the post?

tigermatt

gromituk

Well that's a different problem - if that happens, you get them replaced, and that's done without quibbling from the places I get them.