Energy Efficient Flat Panel TVs

Granted, flat-panel television sets may be great to view and pretty to look at, but some of the TV models consume a lot of energy and will greatly increase your electric bills. This is according to recent testing done by the Web site CNET.com. A way to save electricity is to manage the power use of your TV closely.

The flat panel TV that uses the most energy is the largest TV available commercially, Sharp's 65-inch LCD TV. This one TV costs an estimated $230 per year to power. That is equivalent to almost $20 per month on your utility bills, which is assuming the TV set is watched about eight hours per day.

The LCD set lauded for the least energy use was a Philips 42-inch set, which would cost an estimated $28.69 per year to power, or about $2.40 per month. CNET reviewed and rated both LCD and plasma screens for energy use.

According to studies completed by the United Kingdom's Energy Saving Trust, plasma screens, on average will consume four times the electricity that old-fashioned cathode-ray tube televisions use.

In addition, the trade group Flat Panel TV has stated that that LCD TV sets — Liquid Crystal Display —  consume less electricity than plasma sets at smaller sizes, and will lead to lower monthly utility bills. The trade group also said the energy saving advantage shrinks as the size of an LCD set increases. Regardless of the type of TV set that you choose or buy, always be sure to look for the Energy Star label, which is an effect way to save energy and means the TV set uses less electricity than average.

Additionally, new technology being released should improve the TV set energy efficiency and energy use of flat-panel sets. Television manufacturers already have developed some LCD TV sets that use LED technology — Light-Emitting Diode —, and many TV sets also offer energy-saving features.