How to Buy an Energy Efficient Television

Let’s continue our tour of the appliances in your home by looking at how you can go about purchasing an energy efficient television. In order to do this you need to understand the different types of TV.

Cathode Ray

This is your basic old school TV, which of course are not energy efficient at all. The only way to get much efficiency out of these is to buy them small.

Plasma

These aren’t as energy efficient as you may think. From an Ebay Buying Guide:

Plasma flat-screen televisions are more efficient than CRTs, but least efficient of the flat screen, high-definition generation of televisions. Contained within the plasma TV’s screen are hundreds of thousands of tiny gas-filled cells, or chambers, that comprise the pixels, and each acts as a tiny light bulb of sorts. Within each chamber, UV-light created by pockets of gas excites red, green, and blue phosphors. This means that each pixel is consuming energy as a discrete light source. A full high-definition, 1080 p television has more pixels and requires more power than a 720 p, which is the minimum resolution required to be high-definition.

Plasmas can consume 2-3 times more power than a comparably sized LCD TV, the other dominant flat screen on the market.

LCD TVs

There are actually two different types of LCD TV: LEDs and RPTVs. Either of these are reasonably energy efficient, but the LED liquid crystal display TV offers a better picture quality than the RPTV.

OLED TVs

OLED stands for “Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.” These TVs feature ultra-thin screens and consume the least power of any TV type. They are, however, currently the most expensive type of TV.

Evaluating Specific Brands

You have two tools for evaluating specific television brands: Energy Star and EPEAT. EPEAT assesses the energy efficiency of televisions, computers, and other electronics.

You’ll get specific lists of television brands on either site, giving you a starting point for your shopping.

Protecting Your Investment

If you’re investing in a big screen TV then think about making an additional investment to protect your home entertainment system. Whole home surge protection can greatly increase the life of your television and other electronics.

If you live in the Raleigh-Durham area call us. For $250 we can install a whole house surge protector that comes with a $25,000 protection policy on all appliances (excluding central air conditioning unit). Contact us today for details!

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