Quote:
Originally Posted by trebuchet03
I guess that's understandable for CFLs in colder climates - or older magnetic ballast fluorescents... (If I recall, myth busters tested a whole array of lights for their startup times  ) |
I've been in the facility maintenance gig for a while now, and I can tell you this: on and off kills the bulb. Incandescent or fluorescent, the cycling will destroy it faster. There's no way around it.
There's some firehouse in CA that's had the same bulb running nigh-onto-continuously for about 100 years (that's
not an exaggeration); the bulb is never ever turned off. It even has its own webcam.
I think, looking solely from the bulb's lifespan point of view, the cutoff is around seven minutes for a fluorescent. If you're going to be away from the light more than seven minutes, turn it off. That's the interval I set the automatic switches for in the kitchen at work.