I've heard that turning off the lights in a room if you're going to be back quickly wastes electricity. Is that true?

With fluorescent lighting, you should turn off the lights only if you'll be away for more than 15 minutes. This practice isn't really about saving electricity -- it is about prolonging the life of the fixtures.

If you use "regular" incandescent light bulbs, you should always turn off the lights if you're not in the room. That makes sense even if you're only going to be out of the room for a couple of minutes.

Whenever possible, make the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs in lighting fixtures that you use frequently. These bulbs only use one quarter of the energy of incandescent bulbs, and some brands last up to 10 times as long.

For more information on compact fluorescent light bulbs, including where to purchase them, visit:
http://www.energystar.gov/products/cfls/

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