Power savers: Energy-efficient HDTVs

David Katzmaier, Senior Editor May 4, 2010

In the universe of television hardware, May 1, 2010, marked the beginning of the Energy Star 4.0 era. TVs bearing the familiar logo must now abide by new, somewhat stricter standards than those under the Energy Star 3.0 regime. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the voluntary program in the U.S., TVs qualifying for the new standard "will offer consumers savings of more than 40 percent."

That's all well and good, but just about every TV on the market qualifies to earn the little blue sticker, making it difficult for consumers to know which TVs actually will save them the most money. That's where CNET comes in.

We test the power use of every TV we review, gathering the results in a handy chart. It shows annual power consumption in both the default mode--the same tested by Energy Star--as well as the calibrated mode, which we believe provides a better indication of the TV's true efficiency. It's a better indicator because the calibrated mode equalizes the sets light output, which is a major determinant in power use.

The six TVs below represent the most-efficient flat-panels we've tested, based on watts per square inch in calibrated mode and arranged in descending order starting with the most-efficient model, Sharp's LC-46LE700UN. Since we consider screen size, they tend to skew larger; however, make no mistake: smaller screens definitely use less power in general. If you're interested in greening up, get as small of a TV as you find comfortable. All the TV's listed are LED-based LCDs, but in case you're wondering, non-LED models are generally just a few bucks more expensive per year. Plasma TVs, on the other hand, are much less efficient.

More Resources

Guide to TV power efficiency,

The chart: Compare power use of 107 HDTVs,

FAQ: Can flat-screen TVs make the efficiency grade?,

Say no to the supersized TV, EPA hints