Your flat screen TV uses too much energy. So do your other appliances.
By Judy Lowe | 05.05.09
Most of us probably think of saving energy in terms of lower gas and electric bills. If the kids turn off the lights when they leave the room – as you’ve told them a million times to – and you keep the thermostat at a moderate level, you should conserve both energy and money, and help the environment at the same time.
But fewer consumers think much about the energy consumed by their household appliances — beyond, maybe, looking for the Energy Star label when they buy a new one. But Monitor staff writer Mark Clayton points out that, since 1972, federal and state standards for lighting and appliances have dramatically slashed the amount of energy used by gas furnaces, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other household appliances.
There are more of these mandated standards coming. California, for instance, notes that a big flat-screen TV is an energy hog: LCD TVs are estimated to use 43 percent more power than old-style sets with picture tubes and, naturally, the bigger the set, the more energy it consumes. So the state expects to pass a law this summer requiring that new sets use less electricity within two years and then even less than that amount in 2013.
Hardly anyone is against saving energy — it’s good for our pocketbooks, it means fewer power plants being built – but sometimes I’ll have to admit that I have mixed feelings about government-mandated standards. Not their goals, you understand, but occasionally the unintended results.
Not everyone is thrilled that the new “green” compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury. And I was interested to find that Consumer Reports noted various issues with front-loading washing machines, which are more energy-efficient, water-thrifty — and, generally, costly — than top loaders. Performance and reliability are among the problems.
I’m currently having a debate with myself over a new washing machine. I want to find one that’s Energy-Star-compliant (even if that doesn’t mean as much as it might), but, let’s face it, it has to wash clothes well and not fall apart.
Of course, the greenest option of all might be to watch less TV and wash fewer clothes. I’m happy to do the former, but not the latter. Maybe I should make sure my wardrobe is all polyester, which turns out to be more environmentally friendly than most natural fibers.
In much the same way that I would never buy a new car the year a model has been revamped, I’d probably wait a year or so after the new standards go into effect before I bought a new flat-screen TV if I lived in California. Nevertheless, I’d be delighted to have someone tell me that I’m being cynical and some manufacturer is meeting the standards right now (in a cost-efficient way).
Still, in spite of my doubts (whether well-founded or not), I’m impressed when Mark tells us that if the new federal energy-efficiency standards – for microwaves, clothes dryers, refrigerators, etc. – are all enacted, they would cut energy bills by about $16 billion. That’s the current combined annual use of electricity by households in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio!
<< Energy efficiency can deliver big rewards | MainComments
2. Jeff Marquardt | 05.06.09
I think you are mistaken about your LCD TV facts. LCD tv’s use about 200% less power than conventional CRT (tube TV’s)
Considerably lower power usage.
17 inch LCD requires around 35 watts
17 inch CRT requires around 90 watts
19 inch LCD requires around 45 watts
19 inch CRT requires around 110 watts
so even if you double the size of your old 32″ CRT (which was the last standard for an american family room) you wouldn’t be wasting any more energy.
Perhaps you ment to say “Plasma” screen TV’s which are actually energy hogs and are being stripped from retailer shelves in the state of CA.
Blog it up but get your facts right!
3. pata | 05.06.09
The “facts” can be elusive Jeff.
The article states, “California, for instance, notes that a big flat-screen TV is an energy hog: LCD TVs are estimated to use 43 percent more power than old-style sets with picture tubes and, naturally, the bigger the set, the more energy it consumes.”
That seems exactly in line with the data I’ve found from manufacturers: “big 65″ Aquos RGB-LED Energy Star awarded TV power consumption is 512 Watts Monitor - 38 Watts AVC System.”
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelDetailedSpecs/0,1161,2123-,00.html
That is certainly more hoggish than my Sony 19″ CRT at 120 Watts.
5. JoeReal | 05.06.09
So you think you’re better off saving energy by not watching TV because you think they’re not on?
How about when the TV’s are in standby mode? How much do they consume?
We might be surprised that these are the true vampires, wasting energy so that it can respond quickly to your remote.
Most have suggested of using central switch to cut-off the power. If you placed them on a central switch (especially on two or three-poled switch), when you turn these vampires on, you would waste time scanning the channels and setting them up every time you cold reboot.
The vampire standby mode should be revamped to save more energy. Just go to the bare minimum of getting activated by remote, and not run the built-in processor 24 x 7.
6. Miggity | 05.06.09
@Jane
That whole “vampire” draw that appliances like TV’s and DVD players suck energy while they’re “off-but-plugged-in,” is a waste of time. They consume such minor amounts of energy while off, don’t even bother yourself with considering unplugging them.
7. Janet Pierce | 05.06.09
There are gadgets that measure the appliances you already own and use in your own house. They will tell you what to adjust, and what to keep. All things use “phantom power” when turned off. At my house, the refrigerator is the hog. It is large, because we live in the country, and also like a walk- in pantry,so we don’t have to go to town more than once a week (gas). Reasons count.
The Apple computer is very thrifty with energy. The HP printer next to it, is another hog about phantom loss when turned off. We pull the plug when it is off. We have energy light bulbs, and just saw that they have mercury in them. Give the scientists some notice, and they will come up with something better.
We have a photovoltaic solar system, so are energy conscious. When it’s too cloudy for a couple days, we turn on the generator. It’s approved in the EU, but not in CA.We have propane for the on demand hot water heater. Also, for the kitchen range, and the dryer. The only electricity for the dryer is to start it up, then the gas does the heating.
The washer is front loading, and is fine.We pay no utility bills. We have two catchment tanks. The one for the house has 3 filters, and a UV light.
In Germany, electricity companies must have reverse meters for people with solar. And they must pay .63 cents per watt and buy back electricity from the customer. Every one is rushing to put in solar. And many other countries have adopted the idea. Here, the utility company had to be forced to provide reverse meters, and only, grudgingly, pays a few pennies back.
8. MrClean | 05.06.09
The author is correct that Compact Fluorescent Lamps contain small amounts of mercury. But, this is not as bad as it might seem when they are used in place of incandescent lamps in appropriate applications. This is because while incandescent lamps do not contain mercury, they do use more electricity than CFLs, and mercury is released into the atmosphere in small amounts at coal plants, for instance. Follow this link to a .pdf from the EPA and DOE that supports this.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
CFLs should be used in applications where they will be left running for 15 minutes or more at a time. Cycling CFLs on and off at shorter intervals significantly reduces the life of the lamps, and negates the benefits of their use.
9. GZaller | 05.06.09
This standby power issue is really BIG. There is a device you can buy from Amazon.com or elsewhere for $22 which tells you the usage of an appliance over time or instantly. My satellite set uses 30 watts while it is “off.” This is like two florescent bulbs going constantly! A stereo used 20 watts in a spare room just waiting for me to turn it on which I rarely do. That’s half a kilowatt hour every day! This is outrageous.
10. Paula | 05.06.09
MrClean comments that the CFLs containing small amounts of mercury is “not as bad as it might seem….” The comparison to the amount of mercury released by power plants to power incandescents vs the energy efficiency of the CFL does make sense, but MrClean probably hasn’t had one break in his house.
Go read about how to clean that up and what the hazard actually is. I changed almost every bulb in my house over a few years ago. We have a few lamps that have dimmers on them and require decorative bulbs, but every other lamp in the house is changed over to CFLs. The lighting quality is weird, but hey, they are saving power and they don’t have to be replaced so frequently. But back to the experience of breaking one. I had a pole lamp with three of these things in it get knocked over in my living room. The head of it landed on the hearthrug in front of the woodstove, and 2 bulbs burst in a puff of vapor and dust and glass fragments right where my dog usually has his nose while dozing by the fire. (Fortunately, he was in another room.)
I looked up how to clean it up. NIGHTMARE. See EPA’s recommendations about half way down the page MrClean referenced.
Go read them, we’ll wait. And if you think reading them takes a long time, imagine doing them. This happened in the winter. One of the coldest winters I can remember. the whole process took over an hour and a half. The first instruction is to air out the room. OK, it’s 3 below zero and I’ve let all the heat out of my house airing out the room (open concept home). Because there was carpeting involved, every time I vacuum this area for the next several times (how many is several, anyway?) I had to open the windows and keep them open 15 minutes after I was done. So… how energy efficient was this choice of light bulbs for me? Yeah, I might be saving on electricity, but I’m blowing it out the window in heating fuel!
I can’t wait for these bulbs to be mandated! Now when you buy a home, will you have to wonder if the last people to live there busted one of these and didn’t do the cleanup right? Watching your baby crawl over the carpet are you wondering what’s in there? And you thought you only had to worry about dirt and bacteria! How does a carpet full of mercury grab your fancy?
11. Jeff | 05.07.09
I find this article confusing too as I TESTED my old 15″ CRT vs. my new 19″ LCD. My old 15″ CRT used 4 Watts when “off” and 50 W when on. In contrast, my 19″ Vizio LCD uses “0″ W when off (< .5 W to be more accurate) and 25 W when on.
The most efficient LCD TVs are excellent at 1) using less electricity and 2) heating up your house less, an important consideration for those for whom the AC bill is more important than the heating bill.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=TV
The above link allows you to select the most efficient TVs. Efficiencies in LCD HTDVs vary widely, so shop carefully. Buying a efficient TV will is a move that will pay for itself fairly quickly when both energy costs and secondary AC costs are considered.
By the way, the best bulb is the LED light bulb, about 3X as efficient as a CFL, less heat. :) A local big box warehouse store has 3.5 and 5 Watt bulbs for about $10 for a 45 Watt incandescent equivalent. This again is a purchase that will pay for itself - quickly! So far only can/spot lights are available but the price is dropping quickly. A year ago, these bulbs were about $60. I’ve purchased 4 of the bulbs and use them where in need spotlighting and for reading. The light is an excellent blue-white.
13. Ben | 05.07.09
Pata wrote:
“That seems exactly in line with the data I’ve found from manufacturers: “big 65″ Aquos RGB-LED Energy Star awarded TV power consumption is 512 Watts Monitor - 38 Watts AVC System.”
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelDetailedSpecs/0,1161,2123-,00.html
That is certainly more hoggish than my Sony 19″ CRT at 120 Watts.”
You are saying that a 65″ LCD uses more electricity that a 19″ CRT. Of course it does! It has roughly 10 times the area of the little 19″!
A more fair comparison would be to compare a 19″ LCD to a 19″ CRT.
14. Judy Lowe | 05.07.09
To those of you interested in some figures on flat-screen TV energy usage: CNET has a chart where they’ve compared the power consumption of 150 HDTVs. Here’s the URL: http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/
It’s certainly not the final word, but it’s an interesting buying and comparison guide.
And here’s news of a pricey but mercury-free “green” light bulb that can be used with dimmer switches (which current CFLs can’t): http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/racing-to-build-a-better-light-bulb/
15. dizizcamron | 05.07.09
this is a bit of a side bar, but the amount of mercury in CFL bulbs is extremely small. literally tenths of micro grams of mercury. and a CFL bulb uses 60% less electricity, which in this country is most likely coming from a coal burning power plant. Coal burning power plants are THE LARGEST source of mercury emissions. Therefore, using CFL bulbs that have trace amounts of mercury in them will still result in a net reduction in mercury pollution in the environment. also keep in mind that these CFL bulbs last for 3 to 5 years or more.
companies have consistently reduced the amount of mercury florescent lights require to function. it used to be a much larger amount. however, at this time, no one has figured out how to make this type of bulb with no mercury whatsoever. its generally true that companies will respond to consumer demands, but engineering innovations don’t happen through sheer force of will alone.
16. robert c | 05.07.09
As far as washing clothes, you could do it the old fashion way with and use a washboard and a wash tub. I might also recommend using the readily available solar clothes drier that is available in every back yard. These are simple and yet very effective ways to go green
17. Shadowsprite | 05.07.09
The solar clothes dryer idea doesn’t work all that well in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle averages 57 clear days a year.(New York gets 95.)
We use a Whirlpool front-loading washer and dryer set which saves water as well as energy. The best thing about them is the fact that they are up on pedestals and cause very little strain on the back. We use only a small amount of detergent and never use bleach or fabric softener. Except for our underwear we don’t put things in the hamper after wearing them once unless they actually have dirt spots or smell bad. Saving energy has a lot to do with personal habits, not just what type of appliances you own.
Am I the only one that feels weird when I am around fluorescent lights? Many stores have been designed with various lighting combinations that I can’t tolerate. I don’t know what REI has, but I often feel like running out of there screaming.
18. JoeReal | 05.07.09
@Miggity
Next time you say something, make sure you have measured them. I have measured those vampires using nifty device that I bought from one of the local electronic stores. You should buy an actual device that measures true power consumed by an appliance at any mode of operation. You unplug the appliance, plug the device in its place, then plug your appliance unto the power and energy measuring device. Run your appliance, take note of the reading. Turn off the appliance, get the power consumption on standby. You can also look at your normal consumption for an entire week. There are many devices like that and they are for sale at Best Buy, Radio Shack and other electronic stores. I have sniffed out the real vampires from our homes and is now saving more than $800/year.
You might be surprised that even the power adapters are draining away 1.5 watts for no load. The 1.5 watts would be 13,140 watt hours for an entire year. My laptop recharger consumes 4 watts when plugged but not connected to my laptop, and that would be 35,040 watt hours per year.
The microwave ovens have their own standby power consumption, now count all the other devices you have in standby mode and we can count how much money are wasted.
Here’s my measurement (watts), from my old notes, around some of my electronics in standby mode:
Coffee maker 3
Microwave 5
Toaster with digital display 2
WashingMachine 10
Dryer 8
TV main 30
Old CRT 2
Amplifier CD changer 12
DVD player 3
Fax Machine 15
Printer 6
Broom Charger 5
My Laptop 4
Wife’s Laptop 6
Oldest Son’s laptop 7
Daughter’s laptop 7
Youndest Son’s laptop 9
LCD Monitor, 19″ 7
That’s a total of 141 Watts from these alone, and if left plugged the entire year and not turned on, they will consume 1,235,160 watt hours for doing nothing.
That’s 1,235 kWH, and if you’re at my tier, that would be $350. That’s just a partial list. My total wasted money on these vampires would have been more than $1,000.
What about those XBoxes, Nintendo Wiis, PlayStations that are never turned off, and those gaming machines….
19. Jeff Marquardt | 05.08.09
To Ben and Pata
Again your mixing apples and oranges. The 65″ sharp you refer to is an LED not an LCD. You really need to look at the differnce between LED’s, LCD, and Plasmas.
All flat screens are not the same!
Also just to point out the difference between a 65″ tv VS a 19″ is like compairing a Toyota Prius VS a Garbage Truck in MPG’s. Not the same at all.
20. pata | 05.13.09
Sure, Jeff, LED’s (light emitting diodes) are more efficient than LCD’s (liquid crystal displays). That strengthens the blog’s case.
The blog pointed out correctly that big flat screens, though more efficient per pixel, use a great deal more energy than small CRT’s.
21. Ed Boss | 08.27.09
Average house has around 25 60wt bulbs. That is like running a big 1,500 wt hair dryer, or small electric stove 1,500 wt periodacally all summer long and this usuage can be multiplied by the extra electricity your A/C has to use to do away with this heat. Floresents while cooling are super savers. If you heat with electricity then the heat fillament bulbs produce heat and really are no not that saving. My bath room has an infer red bulb that heats it. Older televisions actually use more power being turned on and off than just running for longer periods. If using less expensive propane or natural gas install the newer water heaters with a coiled core instead of a straight pipe letting lots of heat leave the house. And venting the dryer with filters into your heating system adds heat and moisture. And all those chargers, and stand by things also give off small amounts of warmth. Motors like electric garage door openers really don’t use like anything that heats or cools. Big brother will though eventually have to limit a lot of luxuries we do take for granted today.
22. Framingham MA Real Estate | 09.15.09
There are so many people that just don’t understand how much energy today’s electronic devices emit. Being in the Real Estate industry and around homes all day long has given me some additional insight on how important it is to conserve energy for our environment.
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1. Jane | 05.05.09
This is a timely and interesting article.
I read somewhere that your appliances consume a lot of energy when they’re plugged in, but turned off. So your computer and TV, for instance, are actually still consuming electricity even when they’re turned off. I’m not sure whether or not this is true, but if so, it may be worth unplugging TV and computer when not in use for those who are super green.
As for energy efficient washers — I just went through this one too. In the end I bought a front loader that had great reviews, but was relatively cost-effective. In the end it’s much gentler on clothing meaning that clothes have a much longer life-span. When I was looking at washing machines, the salesman said not to bother getting a new dryer as technology hadn’t changed much and dryers weren’t that more energy efficient than old ones. I guess the best method is to hang clothes to dry.