BraveSirRobbin said:
So, lets say you have a total of 10 watts of fluorescent lighting.
That would draw 10/120 or 0.8 amps.
add a 20% safety factor and you have 0.096 amps.
BraveSirRobin has the theory right, but the math slipped a digit. Probably a typo.
10/120 = 0.08 (not 0.8)
10 Watts of flourescent lighting is pretty small though.
A 5 amp switch, minus 20% safety rating, would still give you 4 amps capacity. 4 amps X (times) 120 volts = 480 Watts maximum. If you trust the manufacturer and don't need a safety factor, then 5 amps X 120 volts = 600 watts.
A 15 amp switch X 120 volts would control 1800 watts with no extra safety margin, 1440 watts with a 20% margin.
For flourescent lighting you use the REAL wattage of the lamp, not the "equivalent" wattage. The equivalent wattage is really just a fudge factor so people have some idea how bright a bulb they are buying. Most 100 Watt incadencent (old fashioned regular) bulbs burn with "about" the same brightness, regardless of brand, so they use that reather than trying to confuse you with the real output (expressed in lumens).
Now some of the compact flourescent are known to actually use about twice what the bulb is rated for. For example, a 14 watt fl bulb (with an 80 watt equivalent rating) may actually draw 28 watts or so, including the ballast (transformer). So you would use that 28 watt number, if you knew that you had one of those. Check your packaging carefully for more details.
