How Green is your Screen?

[Boyd Ostroff]

This article in today's Wall Street Journal raises some points which never occured to me: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1197...s_us_nonsub_pj (sorry... this link may expire)

The article points out that the plasma and LCD screens which many people are upgrading to can consume two to six times as much energy as their old CRT sets

A 28-inch conventional television set containing a cathode-ray picture tube, or CRT, for example, often uses about 100 watts of electricity. A 42-inch LCD set, a typical upgrade item, requires about twice that amount of electricity. But the real beast is the plasma set. A 42-inch model often sucks up 200 to 500 watts, and a 60-plus-inch plasma screen can consume 500 to 600 watts, depending on the model and programming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

A 28" CRT TV typically uses about $30/year worth of electricity whereas a 60" plasma screen uses about $130, but when you add peripherals like cable boxes, audio system, DVD player and game console the annual cost can be as high as $200.

An older-style box that functions as a standard receiver for cable-TV viewing usually draws fewer than 25 watts of power, but a more robust version that offers high-definition viewing and includes a built-in recorder may consume three times as many.

According to the article, an average household refrigerator only uses about $60 per year. The household energy a consumer saves by changing incandescent light bulbs to compact flourescents can be totally canceled out when upgrading to a new plasma screen. But....

Doug Johnson, senior director of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association, says the industry is working to improve disclosure and energy efficiency. He says comparing television energy use to refrigerator energy use is "hackneyed," adding, "when was the last time the family gathered around the refrigerator to be entertained."

My 37" plasma screen is about 3 years old; I just looked at the label and it uses 345 watts. If you're energy conscious, get a projection TV - they typically only use around 150 to 200 watts. But all our gadgets are going to become a much larger part of our energy costs in the future...

Currently, 11% to 13% of the average American household's electricity bill stems from consumer electronics. But that is projected to rise to 18% by 2015, according to the EPA, part of the Department of Energy.

[Don Blish]

For what its worth, my 52" Sharp Aquos (LC-52D62U) draws 290watts on a "KilAwatt" box. The 50" LCD rear projector I gave a friend drew 200.
Of course the new panel is nice and slim and brighter too. I rationalize as I have solar panels on the roof......