Flat-Screen TVs Sucking Down the Power

Back when LCD panels were first introduced as replacements for CRT computer monitors, they were heralded as not just a way to save space but a way to save energy as well: They used far less power and produced less heat than CRTs of the same size, which means buildings would spend less on air conditioning, too.

But as flat-panel technology moved to the television market, things started to change. Namely, LCDs and plasmas started to get a lot bigger than the largest CRTs available. Now you hear very little about power consumption of flat panels. I thought I'd take a look at how things have changed in recent years.

First off, it's actually quite difficult to find power consumption information for television sets. Very few vendors report the stats on their websites, and many bury them pretty heavily. (Tip: If you want to find the information reliably, look in the user manual on the specifications page, usually one of the last pages in the manual. Many manuals are online in PDF format now.) 

So how do CRTs, LCDs, and plasmas stack up? Here's some data on roughly similar size sets offered by the same vendors.

Philips has some of the most open power-consumption reporting, so let's start there. The company's 19-inch LCD consumes 60 watts, while its 20-inch CRT consumes 120 watts. Sounds good for LCD so far. But jump up to a 26-inch LCD and you're now at 120 watts, while the 27-inch CRT... still consumes just 120 watts. Whoa! JVC's 32-inch CRT consumes "140 to 150 watts" while its 32-inch LCD eats 159 watts. 

Beyond this level, things really start to get hairy. Of course, you can't find CRTs beyond this size any more, but Philips' 47-inch LCD consumes a whopping 290 watts and its 50-inch plasma eats up a mind-bending 400 watts! If you replaced a 26-inch CRT with that 50-inch plasma, you more than tripled your power bill on that outlet.

There's also the not-so-small issue of other equipment: No one likes a big picture without big sound. I realized I had no idea what my killer receiver's power consumption was, so I looked it up. The cost of 5.1 surround sound? 630 watts! A big plasma and a good receiver can easily eat up a full 1000 watts of power. In the UK, experts say the emerging problem could require another two nuclear power plants just to power the country's big TVs.

It's a big problem with few solutions aside from downscaling your home theater. But there's one decent option for those who want a big TV without a big power bill: Rear projection sets. JVC offers two 56-inch projection TVs with power consumption of just 215 to 240 watts. The technology may not be as exciting as the latest flat panels, but your wallet may be worth listening to on this one.