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switching on and off - costs?

A simple question really; does it costs more money to say switching on a light switch for a brief moment than leaving it on?

In other words, is it like a land line, where there is an initial charge / setup fee?

Also, how energy efficeient are energy-saving light bulbs compared to their equals if say I was to switch on for small amount of time?

Comments

  • AFAIK the payback time for lights was something like 15 seconds.
    In other words, turn off when not in use :)
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    There is no set up or connection charge when switching on a light.

    Energy saving lightbulbs use about 20% of the energy an equivilent traditional lightbulb used.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
  • Premier wrote: »
    There is no set up or connection charge when switching on a light.

    True - although there is a slightly higher power usage at the turn on point, compared to once up and shining though :)
  • Andy_WSM
    Andy_WSM Posts: 2,217 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Uniform Washer Rampant Recycler
    True - although there is a slightly higher power usage at the turn on point, compared to once up and shining though :)

    Which is so small in the grand scheme of things that it will add nothing to your bill.
  • moonrakerz
    moonrakerz Posts: 8,650 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Repeated switchings of an incandescent lamp can cause filament failure due to thermal shock - which is why they fail anyway, but takes longer !
    Dunno about low energy ones:confused:
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