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In September 2007 our television packed up with a digital decoder
failure. Although it was under four years old we decided
to replace it with a a slightly larger one since the cost of repairing
it was going to be at least £250.
General
The comments here are applicable to both televisions and computer
monitors. Of the three main types of television available we
decided to go for an LCD type (as opposed to plasma or CRT).
CRT types are gradually disappearing, they tend to be the largest,
heaviest and can use more power than the other two types. Having
decided on a size of 42" and compared the quality of about
twenty televisions (LCD and plasma) we narrowed the choice down
to four based on picture quality and ability to connect to peripheral
devices. All of these had similar picture quality so we started
looking at power consumption (in use and standby power). The
ones with built in free view or high definition decoders typically
had a higher power consumption so if you don't need these go
for one without. One point to bear in mind when comparing picture
quality is the fact the lighting in shops is chosen to enhance
performance - beware of dim lighting and TVs with the brightness
near maximum - if in doubt ask to view the TV in a different
location, although they complain a lot of shops will do this.
Power Consumption
The electricity consumption during use varies quite a bit from
TV to TV and it quickly became apparent we were not comparing
like for like. It appears the power consumption is quoted for
maximum brightness and contrast setting. A quick survey showed
the shops set the brightness to give the best picture (for obvious
reasons). The moral of this is set the contrast and brightness
to 50% and then compare the televisions. Doing this narrowed
the choice down to one made by Philips. Having purchased the
TV based on the criteria above I then measured the power consumption
and the results were to say the least surprising. Set up as we
wanted the power consumption is 221W (specification 240W) and
the standby consumption is 25W (specification 1.5W). The standby
figure makes the assumption that standby is when the set is in
a state able to be activated by the remote control. You only
achieve the standby specification if the set is switched off
(using the switch on the side) when the power consumption is
1W. THis seems to be a very liberal interpretation of the meaning
of standby. The high standby current is not a problem to us since
we switch the television off at the wall socket when not in use.
Once again it also highlights the fact that 'Off' is not really
off.
One lateral way of reducing television power consumption is to minimise the room lighting as much as possible so the television brightness can be reduced, also making sure no lights are shining directly onto the television.
For more information on standby power consumption of digital televisions the energy efficiency page from Digital UK provides some information, including a link to a search tool for specific models which gives information on standby consumption..
Running Costs
Our original television as measured used 275W (standby 2W),
the new television as measured uses 221W giving a reasonable
saving. If the television was left on standby the cost would be massive at
480W per day (20W * 24 hours).
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