Tips To Cut Your HDTV’s Energy Use

If you have an HDTV (high-definition TV), you probably know that it’s a big electricity consumer from the energy bill you get from its use. Typical 50-inch versions demand over 400 watts of power when in use, more than modern refrigerators! This doesn’t even include the other components of your home theater system, such as the amplifier and the disc player, all of which also consume electricity when they are turned off but plugged in (you can solve that problem by purchasing Green Irene’s Energy-Saving Power Strip with Remote). This makes your HDTV home theater one of the largest electricity users in your home.

While your HDTV may be a huge energy hog, the good news is that you don’t have to cut back on your entertainment hours to save money and cut your carbon footprint. To minimize your footprint, you will need to examine what you buy and how you use it.

Here are some guidelines to consider when purchasing and then using an HDTV:

• Opt for a 42-inch TV instead of a 50-inch TV. The difference is not that much and you will save 20% on energy, a big difference!
• Avoid plasma by all means. It will save a lot of energy. For example, a 52-inch LCD TV used just about the same energy as a 42-inch plasma TV. Opt for new LED-lit LCD TVs, such as the Samsung LN55A950, which uses almost 40% less energy than most 50-inch HDTVs.
• Make sure your HDTV is EnergyStar rated. Some models, especially several by Sony, surpass EnergyStar ratings, so also keep an eye out for those.
• Take a look at the labels to find out how much power the HDTV uses. Don’t just look at whether it says that it saves energy or not. Make sure you know that it in fact saves energy in numerical terms.
• HDTVs are set bright enough for showrooms, but normally they are used in living rooms with the family. Lower the brightness setting to save electricity.
• Some newer versions come with performance-sacrificing options, such as taking more time to warm up, in order to save power. You may lose some convenience, but the savings are worth it.
• Your sound amplifier doesn’t really make a difference if big sounds can be heard differently. If you won’t have any such sounds, then turn the amplifier off and disconnect it to save power.
• Use Green Irene’s Energy-Saving Power Strip with Remote to eliminate energy vampires. You can switch the power strip off when appliances are not in use and therefore eliminate power used for “standby” mode.

Electronic Sets For The Eco-Savvy

Commentary: To further save energy on your green electronic sets, you should use the Green Irene Conserve Energy-Saving Surge Power Strip as a way to turn off all electronic sets (TV, DVD, VCR, Video Games, etc.) while keeping on the DVR and/or Cable Modem. You can get phantom power savings right away by using the Green Irene Surge Power Strip.

Amid mounting environmental concerns, TV manufacturers are racing to make energy-efficient sets, with some now launching “eco” branded TVs.

Vizio Inc., Funai Electric Co. and Sharp Corp., for instance, recently unveiled TVs that claim power savings that exceed the U.S. government’s latest “Energy Star” standards for TVs by as much as 29%. Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp., are also launching energy-efficient TVs.

Some of the TVs, such as one model from Vizio’s “EcoHD” models, use fewer or different lamps to illuminate the screen, thereby reducing power use. Funai Electric, which manufactures and distributes Philips-branded flat-panel TVs in the U.S., has two series of eco TVs that save power through a dimming technology that adjusts the brightness of the backlight on the LCD panel based on the ambient light in the room.

Most TVs still consume a power when they are turned off — something Sony targeted when it came up with an energy-savings switch on some models that cuts off the TV’s power consumption when the set is off without interfering with other devices, such as a DVR. The TV also comes with a motion sensor that turns off the device’s backlight if no motion is detected in the room after a certain period of time.

The rush for eco-friendly TVs comes as many consumers are looking for ways to save money on their utility bills. According to the California Energy Commission, TVs rank third in the amount of power used in a home, behind heating-and-cooling systems and refrigerators. When associated devices — cable boxes or game consoles — are included, TV set-ups consume roughly 10% of the electricity in a home, the commission says.

But consumers interested in buying the new low-power TVs may be trading power for performance. In particular, the green TVs often sacrifice screen brightness, some analysts say. TV makers counter that consumers won’t be able to tell the difference between the image quality of eco-friendly TVs and standard models if the devices sit side by side.

Many of the green TVs are also more expensive than standard machines. Vizio’s 32-inch Eco HDTV is priced at roughly $500, while a standard Vizio 32-inch TV can cost between $400 and $450. Sony hasn’t released the pricing for its eco TVs, which are scheduled to hit the market in June, but the company says it will charge a premium for the products over its standard line of TVs.

Excerpted from the Wall Street Journal.

Rosamaria Caballero Stafford
Co-Founder and the Original Green Irene