Viewpoint: Gas Guzzling TVs?

Energy consumption by televisions has been growing steadily over the last few years, as consumers have watched more TV shows and DVDs and played more video games than ever before. As U.S. homes continue to increase their TV use and add DVRs, DVD players, gaming consoles and additional household TVs to their main displays, TV-related energy use in homes soon could rise to 10 percent of the nation's total energy consumption, according to the environmental awareness group National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

However, once consumers adopt larger displays using new technology, especially HDTVs and plasmas, energy bills will really begin to shoot through the roof. The NRDC estimates that 266 million TVs are now in use in the United States, and that number is growing by 3.5 million per year. With half of all new TVs expected to have larger screens and be extended- or high-definition displays by 2009, total TV energy use nationwide may rise to more than 70 billion kilowatt hours per year, almost twice the current usage.

Compounding the problem is the current high cost of crude oil, which isn't expected to drop anytime soon. Higher oil costs bring higher overall energy costs, so it behooves digital integrators and customers to find more power-savvy products.

One key problem: There's no good method for measuring and comparing the energy use of various TVs. The widely used Energy Star program from the Environmental Protection Agency only labels products based on their energy consumption in standby mode when the TV isn't turned on (not the way most people prefer to watch TV!). The Department of Energy's method for measuring TV energy consumption is 30 years old and was based on black-and-white TVs. The international standard for testing the energy use of displays, IEC 62087, also is outdated and only covers CRTs.

But there's some hope. Voices in the government and consumer-electronics industry are pushing for updated standards. The EPA has been meeting with energy companies and device manufacturers to find ways to measure and reduce the energy consumption of displays. Also, the Imaging Science Foundation, a consulting and training organization, also is involved in a study that measure how the adjustment of a display's levels can affect its energy use.

Some improvements have occurred already. LED-based displays, which use less energy, are being sold in Japan and may come to the United States in small sizes later this year. Compared with similar-sized CRTs and LCD screens, plasmas are bigger energy hogs. But the amount of energy they use is dropping as manufacturers work to reduce their power consumption in active mode.

The NRDC predicts that reducing the active-mode power consumption of all TVs in the United States by 25 percent would save more than 10 billion kilowatt hours per year and would cut energy bills by $1 billion annually. As energy conservation efforts come to fruition, it's important for integrators to educate customers about the energy use of displays before they buy them. Integrators also should recommend ways that homeowners can cut the energy output of their displays.

This is one of those cases where less is more.

Anything on your mind? Contact Michael Gros, associate editor of Digital Connect , at (516) 562-7276 or [email protected].