Plasma TVs again

Reviewing our energy consumption figures revealed that our cathode ray tube television (CRT TV) is quite low in its energy use.

Research for the 40% house found the typical CRT TV uses 75 watts in on-mode while a typical plasma TV uses 350 watts.

Taking our TV as the baseline with 52 watts in on-mode and dividing all three by 52 to give a baseline ratio:

Our TV : Typical CRT TV : Typical plasma TV
1 : 1.44 : 6.73

Yes, buying a typical plasma TV would multiply our energy consumption 6.73 times!!!

Using that ratio to convert our baseline TV energy consumption of 175.3kWH, that would give energy consumptions of:

175.3kWh : 252.432kWH : 1179.769kWh

at a cost of:

£15.57 : £22.42 : £104.76

And that’s why I think plasma TVs should be banned.

People may well swap their incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient ones, but the gain in energy conservation is wiped out when they swap their CRT TV for a plasma one.

The most energy efficient television are rear projectors, then LCDs. To take account of different screen sizes, CNET did an extensive review of TVs and then calculated a watts per square inch rating:

Microdisplay rear projector: 0.11 to 0.15 watt per square inch
LCD: 0.16 to 0.41 watt per square inch
CRT: 0.25 to 0.40 watt per square inch
Plasma: 0.30 to 0.39 watt per square inch

Of course, modern TVs use more efficient technologies but as TVs have become bigger, the gains in efficiency are often lost as people trade up to a bigger TV.