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It is a well known fact that Americans love to watch television and it is not uncommon for an American home to have two or more TV sets. With new, power thirsty, high-definition (HD) TVs becoming more popular, it is important that we consider how much energy is being consumed by vampire energy. According to HowStuffWorks.com, “the average American pays around $24 a year to power his or her TV” but “power-hungry” HDTVs could cost as much as $230 a year. The difference in cost is mainly due to the larger screen size because most models do not completely shut off when the operator pushes the power button but rather go to a standby mode. In order to prevent becoming a victim of vampire energy it is required that the user either unplugs the set or a separate switch is turned off to completely cut the power supply.

The larger screen size HDTV sets, 40 inches or larger, have been found by the Natural Resource Defense Council, “to consume more energy per year than any other device or appliance in the house, including a 22.5 cubic foot refrigerator” (HowStuffWorks.com). Not only does screen size affect energy efficiency but screen type plays a role. Plasma Tvs have been labeled the least energy efficient, LCDs are second worst, projection TVs third and traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) is the most energy efficient TVs.

One energy saving TV is the Philips 42PFL5603D which is also called the Eco TV. According to HowstuffWorks.com, “when you activate the Eco TV’s power saver mode, the television uses a trio of sensors to optimize the intensity of the LCD’s backlight. The brighter the room, the harder the backlight needs to work. The Eco TV can detect the relative darkness and brightness of the room and adjust how much light it uses to illuminate the picture.” A sensor adjusts for the brightness of a scene and if it is a night scene, the backlight knows to dim and save energy (HowStuffWorks.com).

But if you do not want to purchase a new television set, you can still save energy by following some helpful tips I found on HowStuffWorks.com http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/energy-efficient-electronics2.htm.

1.When you’re not using the TV, power it down completely by unplugging it or turning off the power strip the TV is plugged into, instead of only using the power button on the TV.

2.Check if you’re TV has a power saver mode and use it if it does.

3.Disable any Quick Start option that leaves the TV in standby mode as a default.

4.Manually dim the intensity of the backlight via the contrast and brightness
controls.

5.Watch TV in a dark room to improve picture clarity and requiring less backlight.

Posted By: Renee Castillo