Ryland, I have not experienced what you describe. I normally see a compact fluorescent slowly ramp up its wattage usage until they reach maximum brightness, which is about 3 minutes when I'm paying attention to it but I'm not seeing wattage beyond its ratings. Also, I have never measured the voltage of my house to be at 120 volts either. I'm typically seeing 114 through about 117 when I've checked.
The mA value you see on the fluorescent lamp could involve the inrush that comes with the initial emissive spike involved to get the mercury active. I have a unit next to me labeled with 120v 380mA which is 45.6 watts. In reality it consumes half that, it is a 23w rated unit.
|