California comes down hard on Plasma and LCD televisions

by Stevie Smith - Nov 19 2009, 09:25

Ye olde Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) televisions of yore may have been superseded by the evolution of sassy flat-screen, high-definition sets, but the obvious performance-based benefits of such cutting edge devices is not matched by their ecological credentials. However, the state of California is taking radical action to change that shortfall.

In a move that will see California emerge as the first U.S. state to enforce compulsory energy consumption restrictions on TVs, state legislators have this week revealed that sets falling outside the new ecological profile will be banned in order to help save consumers some $8 billion USD over the next decade.

According to the California Energy Commission (CEC), televisions ranging up to a screen size of 58 inches must consume 33 percent less energy by 2011 (under 183 watts) – with that initial drop increasing to 50 percent by 2013 (under 116 watts).

Although environmental groups have welcomed the CEC’s push for improved efficiency through an electronics device responsible for some 10 percent of all energy bills in the state of California, figures from the tech industry are not so enamoured by the restrictions.

Speaking with the BBC, plasma television industry representative Dave Arland said California’s new standards “could drive up costs,” in the marketplace and limit competition, given that “super energy efficient [televisions] are the ones that are more pricey.”

It perhaps should be noted that an average plasma television consumes more than three times more energy as a CRT set, while a liquid crystal display (LCD) television sucks up around 43 percent more than a tube-based device.

Similarly, TV manufacturers have warned the mandatory regulations will seriously damage innovation, stifle consumer choice, and also have an adverse effect on electronics retail outlets across California.

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