Energy Star Getting Tougher on TVs, Tests Them When Turned On
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California 
on 10.13.08
Photo via eheçatzin
TVs suck up a lot of power. While LCD and OLED TVs are progressing, Energy Star is getting tougher on energy use standards for high powered displays.
While old standards required TVs to barely sip power when turned off, starting November 1, the new standards will be launched and TVs that want to sport the Energy Star logo will have to be a bit more efficient when actually turned on.
The old standard (you may want to sit down for this) only tested TVs for phantom power. In other words, to be Energy Star certified, they could use no more than than one watt when turned off. Sure, this is important considering phantom power is an issue and TVs are turned off about 80% of the time. But still, c’mon.
Luckily Energy Star sees the flaws in this and the new standards will test TVs when turned on. The power-on testing will have to be made in the default picture mode of the TV. Using the “home” setting versus the “retail” setting puts the TV in standard picture mode which is much more energy sipping. Switching to modes like “vivid” or “dynamic,” which are used in stores, draws a heck of a lot more power.
With Energy Star testing for energy use when people are actually using the TVs, consumers will be able to get a better idea of just how efficient the TV is when in a mode they’ll be using at home.
The amount of energy a TV is allowed to consume and still meet Energy Star certification is based on size and resolution. Specifics for allowed consumption amounts for different TVs in on mode can be found on page 5 of Energy Star’s Requirements document.
Via Crave
More on Energy Star:
Plasma TVs Suck (Electricity)
ENERGY STAR Launches New Version of ENERGY STAR@Home
Are You Using Energy Star to its Full Potential?
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Wow did they have it easy. Next up, the EPA is going to check the millage for cars that are coasting downhill with the engine off.
Note to Energy Star: Thank you Captain Obvious.
"to be Energy Star certified, they had to not use less than one watt when turned off. "
Shouldn't that be "not use more than one watt when turned off" ?
olevia tv's are energy star and Green Product Compliant which means it has no toxic chemicals. it is great to see a tougher standard. i'm going to watch for what new tv's get the symbol and which ones do not.
We have an old cathode tube tv. It uses 100 watts when on, and probably doesn't use much power when off. We are trying to see if we can get a new tv that is better for the environment, but that does not appear possible. If we keep our old tv, we will either have to get a converter box or update it by getting cable. I grew up without a television and never missed it.