Looks like I have some corrections to make about my Fantasy Football teams. This isn't the first year I made the playoffs and this is also the fourth year I've played. I guess that shows how much effort I put into these leagues. Here is my coaching history and the positions I finished in.
2003 Fuzzy Logic 7 of 13 Made the playoffs
2004 Pocket Aces 6 of 12 Made the playoffs
2005 Hot Route 8 of 12
2006 KoolAid Kid 6 of 12 Made the playoffs
Woo mediocrity!
Growing up in Indiana, we were told that if we were going to come back into a room within 5 minutes, it was better to leave the light on. If it was a fluorescent bulb, that time went up to 10 minutes. It sounded good and for lack of any contrary evidence, that's pretty much the rule of thumb I've followed.
MythBusters recently tackled this topic. How much power does a light bulb use when it starts up? How many times can you turn a bulb on and off before it dies? The results surprised me. Here is a chart showing the type of bulb and how many seconds of power it uses when it starts up.
| Bulb |
Seconds |
| Incandescent |
0.36 |
| Halogen |
0.51 |
| LED |
1.28 |
| Fluorescent |
23.3 |
So for most of the bulbs in your house, if you're going to be gone for more than 0.36 seconds, you should shut it off to save money.
But what about shutting the bulb off and turning it on repeatedly? Does that create wear and tear on the bulb? Nope. They set up a rig that turned the lights on and off every few seconds and it ran for weeks.
Shut those lights off and save money!