Old style TV -v- LCD (LED?) electric use?

Martin_Knott-Lewis

I still have an old CRT TV 24".

Can someone please tell me how much electricity this uses and how this compares to a new LED or LCD TV, say 32"?

I have no idea about the power consumption.

I am having to review all my household bills and make some changes.

Tropez

On average a CRT screen uses approximately 2-3 times more power than the equivalent sized LCD screen but this can vary depending on several factors.

A list of the "green" credentials of various makes and models of various LCD/LED/Plasma televisions can be found at http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/. If nothing else it should be able to give you an idea of the power consumption ranges to look for when purchasing a new TV.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Plasma TV's use most power. I can feel the heat radiating off mine when I walk past it.

UncleZen

OK Ive done this measurement so I know. Im a little fanatical on how much energy things use. Tropez is incorrect (for like for like comparisons).
My 21" CRT used about 70W so Id estimate about 90W for a 24" CRT (look in the manual if you still have it).
My current Sony 32" LCD TV (with CFL) backlight uses 70W.
My OLD (circa 2003) Sonly 26" LCD TV uses 103W (Notice how the screen is smaller but uses more power, hence newer technology has improved power consumption).
If you get an LCD TV with an LED backlight (incorrectly called an LED TV) expect to improve upon the 70W mentioned above though you might pay a premium for the LED backlight (even though they use less parts and are cheaper to produce than CFL backlight TVs).
Plasmas generally use more power than the equivalently sized LCD TV, Early plasmas were shocking e.g. 450W wasnt unusual, but nower days they are much-much better.

Tropez

UncleZen wrote: »

OK Ive done this measurement so I know. Im a little fanatical on how much energy things use. Tropez is incorrect (for like for like comparisons).
My 21" CRT used about 70W so Id estimate about 90W for a 24" CRT (look in the manual if you still have it).
My current Sony 32" LCD TV (with CFL) backlight uses 70W.
My OLD (circa 2003) Sonly 26" LCD TV uses 103W (Notice how the screen is smaller but uses more power, hence newer technology has improved power consumption).
If you get an LCD TV with an LED backlight (incorrectly called an LED TV) expect to improve upon the 70W mentioned above though you might pay a premium for the LED backlight (even though they use less parts and are cheaper to produce than CFL backlight TVs).
Plasmas generally use more power than the equivalently sized LCD TV, Early plasmas were shocking e.g. 450W wasnt unusual, but nower days they are much-much better.

The information I supplied was based on averages garnered from more than one source, which as I acknowledged can still depend on other factors.

There will always be different factors and age needs to be taken into account, as older CRTs are horrific for energy efficiency, as are, as you mention, older Plasma TVs and indeed older LCD TVs.

Certain manufacturers are also noted for being more energy efficient than others. Philips regularly scoop "green" awards for the power consumption of their TVs and Sony have been researching various technologies that can reduce the power consumption of an LCD set by 50-80%.

I can also confidently say that my old 28" CRT TV (purchased around 2000) used 160w of power, compared to a three year old 32" LCD TV I have in my home that uses 90w.

An average, however, is just that. It is not an unbreakable rule and so, yes, there will be CRT sets that are significantly more efficient than an LCD equivalent but in general terms, especially in the past two years or so as LCD technology has progressed rapidly (LCD's were decried in the early days for poor picture quality, ghosting and their power consumption), the right LCD will be more energy efficient than the equivalent CRT.

Tiddlywinks

If it's money saving that's driving your decision then keeping your 24" CRT will mean you'll save on buying a new telly - that should cover many, many, many hours of usage of the older technology, no?

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Thank you all for your replies.

Tiddy, you are right of course! but my old telly is on the blink and I think it will expire soon.

I have learned from all your posts that when I come to replace it:
1. I should avoid plasma in favour of LCD, or better still LED and
2.that a smaller tv will use less power and
3.to check the brands as it varies between brands as well.

Thank you all and I hope it is usefull to others too.

almillar

1. Wrong. Modern plasmas use around the same as LCD size for size. They also vary depending on how bright a picture is (ie dark scenes use much less power) so reading the peak power for a plasma is totally misleading.
2. Absolutely correct. But you must check individual models
3. Yes, brand and model.
You need to set a budget and decide what size of TV you want. TVs really don't cost a lot to run, so buy based on the picture first, and energy second. Don't buy a small TV just to save energy.
Have you worked out how much a TV costs to run, per hour for example, compared to other stuff in your house?

Martin_Knott-Lewis

almillar,

Thanks but no, I don't know how to work it out. I only know what the kWhr costs. From next week's price rises my electric cost per unit is 14.501p.

I see the electric appliances have the kW printed on them, eg. my tv says 100W and my kettle states 2500-3000W. I guess I divide by 1000 to get to kW?

I suppose I have to multiply by time... Not sure.

yorkie98

Martin_Knott-Lewis wrote: »

almillar,

Thanks but no, I don't know how to work it out. I only know what the kWhr costs. From next week's price rises my electric cost per unit is 14.501p.

I see the electric appliances have the kW printed on them, eg. my tv says 100W and my kettle states 2500-3000W. I guess I divide by 1000 to get to kW?

I suppose I have to multiply by time... Not sure.

To calculate KWH/units is even easier than that.. 1KWH is 1000W/H (an appliance using exactly 1000W running for one hour will use exactly one unit) so your TV will use 1 unit (KWH) in 10 hours (100W x 10=1000W)
Your kettle if 3000W will use one unit in 20mins (or 3 units per hour) as it uses electricity at 3x the KWH rate.
The formula is KWxH=KWH so the TV used for say 20 hours would be 0.1x20=2KWH or 29.002 pence. The kettle used for an hour would be 3x1=3KWH or 43.503 pence.

The consumption of your TV, although stated at 100W is the very maximum power it can possibly consume but for most of the time will not use this much, maybe 50-75% on average. To make the TV consume it's max power it would have to be showing a permanent white screen at full brightness and you'd have to have the sound at full blast and the sound would need to be white noise..

HTH..

almillar

You can see that it would be far cheaper to watch a lot more TV and drink less tea/coffee!
The important point to re-iterate is to NOT look at at the technology, but look at the actual power usage, and remember that it's an absolute maximum. The difference between all TVs is so small though that I think you should just buy the biggest TV with the best picture and features that you can afford. You've only got 1 pair of eyes!