Super Eco

Photo credit: zchizzerz, SXC

Does your big screen TV suck? Power, that is—we're talking about plasma sets that gobble more than three times as much energy as conventional TV sets, and LCD (liquid crystal display) sets that soak up over 40% more juice than average TVs. Home theater enthusiasts in California who are in the market for either may be in for more energy-efficient choices when they get to the store, as the state moves to finalize a move to ban power-hog big screens. If passed, California's ban on power-guzzlers would be the first in the nation.

In eleventh-hour maneuvering that the LA Times calls "what appears to be a losing battle to dissuade California regulators," the influential lobby group Consumer Electronics Association is continuing a last-ditch effort to block the legislation. Not all TV manufacturers agree that the new regulations would prove to be a hardship, though. Leading manufacturer Vizio, among others, has said they would have little trouble meeting the proposed standards without significantly increasing prices.

The payoff of the new regulations could be big for TV owners, the LA Times reported Energy Commission sources as saying. Average first-year savings from reduced electricity use would be an estimated $30 per set and $912 million statewide. The new energy efficiency standards for big screens would save enough energy to power 1 million homes and will cut CO2 emissions by 3.5 million tons—something very worth watching on a big scale, indeed.