RonB wrote:
On Jun 6, 8:58 pm, Smarty wrote:
Is there such a thing as a true "instant start" CFL which produces full
intensity brightness as soon as it is turned on? I am trying to find an
indoor bulb which will not require any warm up period to attain full
brightness.

I know that claims are made, but wonder if they are exaggerated or true.
General Electric, for example, actually labels their bulbs as "instant
on" but they are not 'instant'.

I also realize that colder temperatures prolong the ionization / warm up
period, but my application is for indoor use at normal 70 degree F
temperature.

Thanks for any advice.

It depends on what you call instant:

We have some Wally World quick starts above our bath vanity and they
come "on" pretty much at the flip of the switch. However, they are
very dim when they come on and take about one minute to come up to
full speed. This is OK with us because full bright isn't what we want
at 6:00am.

Other places, like our bedroom closet, have normal Wallyworld bulbs
that have about a 1 second lull, then come on near full brilliance.

A second is not very long in the grand scheme of things, but our brains
are accustomed to "instant on", so we jump to the conclusion that something
is busted long before the second elapses.
Doesn't take many times to become accustomed to "lower expectations".

I have a couple of fixtures with two lamps. I use one fast one and
use the other hole to use up the slow ones.

My suggestion is sample a few and then buy more of the ones that meet
your needs.