Energy savings with televisions

The amount of energy your TV uses can vary widely depending on the technology type and the size of the screen. While there are exceptions, rear-projection TVs generally are the lowest consumers of electricity, followed closely by liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions, and plasma TVs are generally the biggest energy hogs. LCDs usually require less power that the old cathode-ray tube (CRT) TVs when the viewing size is the same or less than 40 inches.

As the screen reaches 50 inches and larger, the rear projection TV is usually the most energy-efficient technology.

When shopping for a new TV, look for the Energy Star label on all available TV technologies. Energy Star qualified televisions use as much as 30 percent less energy than other TVs.*

Rear Projection TV	LCD TV
Old-Fashioned CRT TV	Plasma TV

No-cost ways to save

• Turn off the TV when no one is watching. Leaving the TV on as “background noise” is an easy habit to get into. While TVs still consume power while they are off, it’s a very small percentage of what they use when they are on.
• Turn down the backlight on your LCD TV. Many LCDs allow you to adjust the intensity of the backlight in your TV which will make the TV less bright and lower energy consumption.
• Turn on the power-saver mode if your TV has one. The amount of energy savings will vary drastically depending on the brand and model.
• Watch TV together. A family of four watching one TV uses a quarter of the energy used by four people watching four separate TVs.