On Wednesday, the
California Energy Commission voted to increase the energy-efficiency requirements for televisions. In fact, the rules that begin in 2011 and take full effect in 2013 are so strict that only a fourth of the televisions currently on the market meet them. Trends like this often start in California, so stay tuned to this story.
The Associated Press reports that
"Wednesday's action could lead the way to a general reform of standards for an industry increasingly focused on wide-view, flat-screen, high-definition sets":
"The commission estimates that TVs account for about 10 percent of a home's electricity use. The fear is that energy use will rise as people buy bigger, more elaborate TVs, put more of them in their homes, and watch them longer.
"The average plasma TV uses more than three times as much energy as an old cathode-ray tube set. Liquid-crystal display, or LCD, TVs use about 43 percent more energy than tube sets, according to Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the state's biggest utility. LCDs now account for about 90 percent of the 4 million TVs sold in California each year."
The Energy Commission's Web site says the
standards would "improve the energy efficiency of televisions without affecting their quality":
"The proposed standards have no effect on existing televisions. If approved, they would only apply to TVs sold in California after January 1, 2011. The first standard (Tier 1) would take effect January 1, 2011, and reduce energy consumption by [an] average of 33 percent. The second measure (Tier 2) would take effect in 2013 and, in conjunction with Tier 1, reduce energy consumption by an average of 49 percent."
