I’ve personally been looking for a new TV for a little while now. So, I went to the energy star website and downloaded their excel spreadsheet of TVs. I then sorted them by size and secondarily by efficiency (annual estimated usage). Then, I went on google’s product search and got prices on all of them. The result is a list of energy efficient TVs for each size that met my criteria. The criteria being no more than 180 kWh yearly estimated energy consumption (150 kWh for the 32″ TVs). This was comparable to the CRT television that the new one will replace. I wanted something at least or more efficient than what I already had.
So, here is the list. The TVs are first broken into different sizes, then they are ranked by price. As you can see, generally speaking, the more you pay the more efficient the TV is. Also, the prices have shipping included in them. However, I’m sure the price will fluctuate rather quickly.
32″ TVs
I lowered the requirement of 180 kWh per year usage to 150 kWh for this category. There were just too many TVs that met the 180 kWh requirement.
37″ TVs
40″ TVs
42″ TVs
Small list here. The odd thing here is the Panasonic is actually as plasma TV. I was surprised to find a plasma make the list.
46″ TVs
Despite a small 42″ list, the 46″ list is quite large. I also threw in the 47″ LG since it is close in size.
52″ TVs
Yup, there is even some pretty efficient 52″ TVs out there! I was amazed. If I wanted to spend that much, I could go up to a 52″ TV from a 27″ CRT and have roughly the same power usage. I also threw the Sharp in the list because it was close and the price is very competitive.
So, thats the list. I hope it helps you find a good TV that fits your needs/wants and also helps lower your energy usage. I know my new TV is somewhere on this list.
{ 4 comments }
Hi Tim,
We just went through the same deal for buying a new TV.
We ended up with the Sharp 46 inch you list above with the LED backlight.
I’ve had the KillAWatt meter on it for about a week.
During the day with the window shades up (very bright room), it gets up into the mid 80 watts area, but at night with the room lights on, it drops all the way down to 53 watts — I’m very pleased with that. The gadget that adjusts the backlight intensity automatically really does a good job — saves a lot of power.
It uses half the power of our old 37 inch Toshiba CRT model it replaces.
Its a great TV to watch — beautiful picture — descent sound.
In addition to the Energy Star numbers you have above, I found the CNET reviews to be quite helpful — they do a good job on power consumption.
Gary
Another thing that you always want to keep in mind is phantom loads. Basically anything that has a remote control uses power even when it is “off”. That can add up to significant energy cost over 24 hours x 365 days a year. The only way to stop it is to unplug your TV when you aren’t using it. (Or put it on a powerstrip with a switch.)
The trouble is that the TV would then forget all your programmed stations!!!!
When I bought my TV, I made sure to get one that wouldn’t need to be reprogrammed everytime it is unplugged. I don’t think it has a battery inside, just a capacitor, but it works great!
I only have power to the TV when I actually want to watch it!
Check out the LG 42LH90. It’s harder than hardcore.
Wow, this is amazing and super helpful. Thank you!
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