Flatscreen TVs dramatically improve energy efficiency, report finds

New-gen TVs use less energy

Flatscreen TVs are now 60% more energy efficient than they were five years ago, acccording to the latest research from Sust-It, the energy efficiency website for electrical goods.

Early plasma and LCD screens weren't exactly cheap to run. Sust-It reckons a 42in plasma would have cost nearly £80 a year to run (at today's prices) in 2006, whereas a 2011 equivalent uses nearly six times less energy, produces 265Kg less carbon and costs only £13.76 a year to run.

Sust-it used its extensive energy usage data to compare the running costs of 1,800 televisions and found that between October 2006 and July 2011, there has been a substantial decrease in the average amount of energy flatscreen TV’s are using.

However, Ross Lammas from Sust-it did add a cautionary note by saying: “While we welcome the reduction in energy consumption of TVs, consumers need to be wary of old energy-hungry plasma models, which are still available and will be difficult to spot until new energy labels for TV’s become mandatory in December 2011. My advice is go for an LED model.”

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Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.