That new (and ginormous) TV you’ve been wanting may cost you more than you think!
Photo courtesy of bright_nature at flikr.com.
About a year ago, I laid eyes on the first high definition (HD)TV I’d ever seen. I didn’t immediately see its wonders, I just thought it was a cool, big TV that could be mounted on the wall.
It wasn’t until almost 2 months later that I spent a weekend at my parents house watching the Discovery Channel, Tennis, and other channels in HD. After returning to my own apartment, I realized just how amazing the TVs are! And naturally, I wanted one.
Like most electronics in this world, prices for new big screen TV prices are declining now that these said sets are becoming a more common occurrence. Now, you can find a decent sized LCD or Plasma TV set for a reasonable price, but that sticker price doesn’t include the near extreme increase in your electricity bill that you should know about.
Photo courtesy of B Tal
at flikr.com.
According to a Wall Street Journal article,
A 28-inch conventional television set containing a cathode-ray picture tube, or CRT, for example, often uses about 100 watts of electricity.A 42-inch LCD set, a typical upgrade item, requires about twice that amount of electricity.
But the real beast is the plasma set. A 42-inch model often sucks up 200 to 500 watts, and a 60-plus-inch plasma screen can consume 500 to 600 watts, depending on the model and programming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
So, are you wanting to make your household a little greener but also wanting to trade in your clunky TV that is as old as you are for a bigger and better one?
Become an informed consumer.
Look for the Energy Star tag on your new tube. Although Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, currently only rates energy efficiency on these TV when on standby, starting sometime in 2008 they will tag the most energy efficient TVs while powered on.
Photo courtesy of Tracy O at flikr.com
When talking about TVs and electricity usage, let’s face it, sometimes it just seems like a bunch of numbers with the watts, kilowatts and inches (and we still secretly still want the biggest we can now afford). There are some numbers that might make things a bit easier to follow, though. Talking about money and high electricity can help put things into perspective. Also according to the Wall Street Journal,
Assuming each screen is on five hours a day, the annual energy bill for the conventional 28-inch television set would be about $30 a year, compared with about $130 for the 60-inch plasma model, assuming power costs 12 cents a kilowatt hour.
Ouch! That’s nearly 4.5 times more per year on your energy bill, for your TV alone!
Energy Star’s website explains that Energy Star qualified TVs consume about 30 percent less energy than non-qualified units, which helps you save money, especially if you own other media equipment to go with your TV. They also say that
Today’s TVs, when combined with related products like DVD players and set-top boxes, make up about 10% of a household’s annual electricity bill.
For more information and Energy Star qualified TVs, check out this site.
Want to know exactly how much electricity your TV is using? Or any other appliance, for that matter? Take a look at our Kill-A-Watt device that measures for you!
It’s fun and sometimes surprising to go around the house figuring out where all of your electricity is going.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Wow, what an eye opener. I had no idea the electricity would go up so much. I do not own one, and maynot after reading this.
Thanks for update