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.