How Much Energy Does Your TV Use?
Aside from the initial price of a TV, energy use is the biggest determiner of how much money you’ll spend watching that big screen in the long run. Check this calculator to estimate your TV's energy usage and how much it costs you. The sliders default to national averages, but you can calculate your usage according to the size of your TV, the amount of time you spend watching it and your electricity rate.
LED:
Power Consumption: W
Electric Cost (yearly): $
OLED:
Power Consumption: W
Electric Cost (yearly): $
What affects TV energy use?
When you purchase a TV, the yellow EnergyGuide label gives you a pretty good idea of how much energy it takes to power a screen with those specs. But that label provides an approximate cost based on average settings, usage times and rates. After taking the TV home and making it your own, the cost per month of energy usage could go up. Read on to see all the factors that affect energy usage.
Size
On average, 42-inch TVs draw 33 watts (W) of power and use about 60 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually, which costs you about $7 per year. For a 50-inch TV drawing 47 W of power, that increases to 89 kWh of energy used and $11 annually. These numbers, however, are based on average settings, displays and usage time. The true cost of your TV depends on other factors.
Display
Traditional LCD TVs use cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlighting, with is up to 30% less efficient than LED-backlit LCD TVs. An average 50-inch LED TV uses 89 kWh of energy annually while the less-efficient CCFL-lit LCD uses 111 kWh. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV of the same size uses even more energy at 170 kWh a year.
Resolution
Resolution depends on the number of pixels in the display that are used to create an image. LED TVs typically have screen resolutions of either 1080p (high-definition) or 2160p (ultra-high definition or 4K). On average, 4K TVs use 30% more power than HD models.
Brightness
The display's brightness is a huge player in energy consumption. Some TVs have energy-saving functions that adjust the brightness based on what you're watching or the lighting in the room, but you can always adjust the brightness manually. The brighter the screen, the more energy your TV is using.
Time in use
Many energy calculations are based on viewers watching TV for five hours each day, but that's not the case for everyone. If you leave your TV on all day, your energy consumption will increase. Your 50-inch TV will use about 245 watt-hours (Wh) of energy in five hours. If it's left on for 10 hours, however, energy usage increases to 477 Wh. That's a difference of 85 kWh of energy and $10 a year.