Power consumption is a factor HDTV shoppers need to consider alongside a wide range of factors such as screen size, resolution, contrast ratio and connectivity. To give shoppers some perspective as to the significance of power consumption compared to HDTV cost of ownership, we have examined the power consumption data for a sample of current HDTVs. Power consumption data was sourced from the ENERGY STAR program which promotes energy efficient electrical products.

A standout finding is the low standby power consumption of current HDTVs. To qualify for an ENERGY STAR logo, HDTVs must have a standby power consumption of less than 1W. All models looked at meet this by a large margin with the lowest being 0.07W and the highest 0.3W. This translates to annual standby power for a HDTV costing around 1 or 2 dollars. So for shoppers the message is that as long as a HDTV qualifies for the Energy Star logo, standby power isn’t something that needs to be considered in choosing between HDTV options.

To negate size as an energy consumption factor, we chose to look at a 46 inch size for LCD HDTVs. Our tabulation reveals power consumption in the On Mode ranges from 117 to 228W with the higher figure being 195 percent of the lowest. It is a significantly large range indicating that the LCD display technology used in different brands vary markedly in power efficiency. An unexpected observation from the LCD HDTV figures is that the LED backlit models did not return better energy performance figures given the inherent high efficiency of the LED backlighting.

Quantitatively, the costs for running the HDTVs examined varies from an estimated $25 to $50 per annum. It’s an order of magnitude comparison however, as the wide range of electricity prices and tariffs available means that actual costs will vary. For the shopper, it comes down to a weighing the running costs compared to purchase price along with their values in regard to the importance of maximizing energy efficiency for the benefit of the environment.

The power consumption range of LCD HDTVs emphasizes that consumers need to pay more attention to the power consumption of game consoles such as the PlayStation or Xbox which consume almost 200W which is more than most of the 46 inch HDTVs tabulated.

Because of their inherent display structure, plasma HDTVs come in larger sizes, so we chose 50 inch screen size for our plasma HDTV comparison. There is far less brand choice with plasma HDTVs but, the range of 247W to 303W shows less variation in power consumption than for LCD HDTVs (123 percent highest compared to lowest).

What is most interesting about the plasma HDTV power consumption figures is how close they are to the range for LCD HDTVs. Older plasma HDTV models commonly had power consumptions in the range of 450 to 500W. Current model plasma HDTVs have power consumptions that are significantly lower. It can be seen in the tabulation that the Panasonic TC-P50G10, which includes Panasonic’s new neoPDP energy consumption reduction technology, sits just above the top of the energy consumption band for the LCD HDTVs considered. It may be time to downgrade the perceived significance of the power consumption advantage of LCD HDTVs over plasma HDTVs.