Source of the prohibition
Electrical appliances that generate heat, such as an incandescent light bulb or an oven, are prohibited Biblically (de’orayta) for reasons to be explained. However, appliances that generate light without heat (such as a fluorescent light bulb or LED) and appliances that generate neither light nor heat (such as a fan) do not clearly fall within any Biblical categories of prohibited activity. Some authorities believe there is a Biblical prohibition, others hold there is a Rabbinic (derabbanan) prohibition, and still others believe that operating these appliances is prohibited only by common practice (minhag).
The Chazon Ish and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disagreed about the source and extent of the prohibition.
Igniting a fire
The overwhelming majority of halakhic decisors maintain that turning on an incandescent light on Shabbat violates a Biblical prohibition. An incandescent light bulb generates light by causing electrical current to flow through a metal filament. The resistance to current flow generates light and heat. Sources in the Torah and Talmud forbid similar cases.
The Torah says: "You shall not burn fire in all your dwellings on the day of Shabbat."The Mishnah of Tractate Shabbat, in the context of laws prohibiting cooking, states: "One who heats a metal pot may not pour cold water into it to heat [the water], but he may pour water into the pot or a cup in order to temper [the vessel]." In the Gemara, Rav says it is permitted to add water to cool it, but forbidden to add water to mold the metal. Shmuel says it is also permitted to add enough water to mold the metal as long as that is not his intent, but if he intends to mold the metal it is forbidden. In a different context, Rav Sheshet says that "cooking" a metal filament is forbidden by analogy to cooking spices.
Thus, heating a metal filament might violateeither cooking or igniting a fire or both. Rambam classifies it as igniting a fire or as cooking. Raavad disagrees with the first category but does classify it as cooking or as completing a product "striking the final hammer blow"). The majority of later decisors accept that heating a metal filament is forbidden as igniting a fire, and also agree that turning on an incandescent light bulb falls within the definition of this prohibition.
Molid
Even for appliances that do not produce light, turning on electrical current may violate other prohibitions. For example, the Talmud prohibits the creation of a fragrant scent in one's clothing on Shabbat because, according to Rashi "creating anything new" is prohibited under a Rabbinic category called molid. Rabbi Yitzchak Schmelkes suggested applying molid to the generating of electrical current. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and many others disagree with this application. Among other reasons, they state that molid is a limited category that cannot be expanded past the definitions the Talmudic Sages imposed.
Building
The Chazon Ish wrote that closing an electrical circuit to create current was Biblically prohibited as building, and opening a closed circuit was the corresponding prohibited act of destroying. - Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disagreed vigorously with the Chazon Ish. Among other reasons, he claimed that building and destroying must be fundamentally permanent in nature, whereas most electrical devices are routinely turned on and off at will, and the person who turns it on usually intends that it will be turned off at some later point, and vice versa. Building an item that is fundamentally temporary in nature is at most a Rabbinic prohibition, and Rabbi Auerbach claimed that opening and closing a circuit is like opening and closing a door, which is not prohibited at all.
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