This is a question that can be traced back to original "instant start" and fluorescent lamps which worked on magnetic ballasts.  These older systems, when turned on, went through a starting cycle that included flickering for several seconds before reaching full operating brightness. It was believed that while these lamps were flickering, they were using high levels of energy - much higher than the lamps would use during normal operation.
 

While it is true that while starting, fluorescent lamps do use more energy than while operating, even in those older generations lamps, the higher level of energy use lasted for only a few seconds. However, with today's lamps and ballasts typically reaching normal operating currents in less than 0.1 seconds, this is no longer a factor.  Even though during the startup time, there is a brief jump in current that is several times greater than the lamp's normal operating current, the duration of this increased current, is so short that the energy used is about the equivalent of operating the lamp for five seconds.
 

There are times when selling light bulbs seems to be the exact opposite of poker.

In poker, a player with a strong hand will make a big bet to "clear out the cheap money." In lighting, the cheap players will slash their prices even lower to get rid of the big players.

It wasn't always this way. There were customers who wanted quality and were willing to pay a little extra for it. The peace of mind offered by a quality bulb was well worth a few extra cents. And then there were customers who wanted bargains, no matter the quality. 

After all, if something went wrong, the inferior product would be well out of their purview by the time fingers were pointed. Now it appears that the cheap money is flushing a lot of the stronger players out of the game, at least, for the time being.

For lesser known but high quality brands like DLU Lighting, the Big Three competitors were never the problem. With enough persistence and patience, we would eventually get our prospective customers to understand that our brand was worth the risk - that there was in fact, no risk involved in the purchase of our products, anymore than the purchase of one of theirs.

But with lower cost brands flooding in like carpetbaggers to take advantage of a troubled economy, upper quality manufacturers are facing a market that for the first time doesn't care as much about quality as they once did. They just want to get lamps into fixtures as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

However, strong players know that nothing lasts forever. Two events are bound to occur, and it's merely a question of which will happen first: Either the market will recover and funds will loosen up, or inferior bulbs will present their usual problems and finally fall victim to playing in a game too rich for their blood.

The Department of Energy's July 14 ruling mandating that all F32 T8 700 Series linear fluorescent lamps contain a minimum of 89 lumens per watt has created something of a scramble in the lamp manufacturing industry.

Some lamp companies are considering liquidating their current stock and getting out of 700s altogether, as are some distributors. Some A-brand manufacturers have received two-year extensions to the July 14 deadline, after which time they may either cease the manufacture of 700 Series T8 or fabricate them with enough phosphors to push them over the 89 lumens per watt hurdle.

At this time only one A-Brand manufacturer is already in compliance with the DOE ruling: DLU Lighting has long been manufacturing their F32 700 Series T8s with 2850 lumens, placing the bulbs well over the 89 lumens per watt requirement. DLU began turning out bulbs with 2850 lumens well before the regulation went into effect, illustrating DLU's commitment to deliver its customers the best possible product.