Common household electronics such as televisions typically account for 5–10% of your annual electricity consumption.
The expected lifetime of a modern television is 60,000 hours of use, so when you purchase a new model you are committing to many years of energy costs.
Modern high-efficiency flat screen televisions can save you hundreds of dollars on your annual electricity bill and thousands of dollars over their lifetime.
Look for energy-saving ENERGY STAR home electronics. Remember that you can buy a television that is many times more efficient than the basic ENERGY STAR® requirement.
Using your existing television
If you do not plan to replace your television for some time, take the following steps to reduce the amount of energy used by your existing model:
- Turn televisions off when not in use or use a power strip and use the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance, to avoid "vampire" loads. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off.
- Reduce the brightness of your television and set to ‘eco’ mode if present
- Place cable boxes, DVD players and other devices on a smart power strip that automatically switches them off when you turn off the television
- Use rechargeable batteries. Studies have shown they are more cost effective than disposable batteries.