Thread: Break even points for the energy ue of appliances

I turn TV's and the like off when family members leave the room, and they get annoyed with me, even though all they have to do is push the button again, and say that it uses more energy to turn something off and on repeatedly, and I was trying to explain to them that there's a point where it costs less to turn it off, then back on when you return, but they think the initial energy use of turning a TV on is more than an hour of it being on, and I doubt that. Does anyone know around when these break even points are? I read somewhere that some modern lights have a break even point of less than a second, so really, for them, it would cost less to turn off and on.