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Wondering how much electricity you’ll consume by binge-watching the new season of your favorite TV show?
How much does your nightly television time before bed contribute to your home’s energy usage?
Though television technology has come a long way, newer flat-screen televisions now come with much larger screens than their older counterparts, thus still requiring a good amount of electricity to function properly.
So, how much electricity do the latest models of televisions use?
Let’s examine how much electricity modern television requires and discuss ways to reduce TV power consumption.
TV Technologies: How Do They Differ?
Televisions have come a long way since they were first introduced. Nowadays, newer televisions not only look better than they used to, but they’re also designed to be far more energy efficient.
Today, there are five main types of common televisions, including the big bulky television that you may have used. These larger TVs that were common in the past are referred to as (Cathode Ray Tube) CRT televisions.
The more modern flat-screen televisions that are now more common can come in a variety of forms, such as LCD, LED, OLED, and plasma.
Whatever type of TV you own, if you’re looking to power it using solar energy, you’re in luck. The EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max, with its improved LiFePO4 battery, can support various types of televisions, from LCD to OLED.
Here is a quick breakdown of the key characteristics of the five most common types of televisions you’ll encounter.
LCD
Due to their lightweight design and affordability, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) televisions are by far one of the most popular televisions sold worldwide. Additionally, LCD televisions have a good-quality picture created by a liquid crystal solution set between two layers of glass and then backlit with fluorescent lamps. The average power consumption for an LCD TV can range from 70 watts for a 32-inch set and 200 watts for a 60-inch.
LED
LED televisions use similar technology to LCD televisions; however, instead of using fluorescent lamps to backlight the TV, LED televisions use Light Emitting Diodes. LED televisions often come with better contrast ratios and viewing angles while requiring less energy. A 40-inch LED TV consumes 50 watts of electricity.
OLED
OLED televisions have incredible picture quality due to their use of billions of organic light-emitting diodes. Each diode produces its own light and color, creating excellent contrast and color accuracy. OLED televisions can be much more expensive and require more electricity than LED TVs — a 60-inch OLED television consumes approximately 107 watts of electricity while operating.
Plasma
Plasma televisions use tiny pockets of gas that light up when high amounts of voltage are applied to them, creating excellent contrast ratios and viewing angles. Although the picture quality on plasma TVs is incredibly high, the amount of electricity required to power one is incredibly high. It takes approximately 500 watts of electricity to power a 60-inch plasma television.
CRT
The classic CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) is quite rare these days after being replaced by flat-screen televisions in the early 2000s; however, some die-hard fans still exist out there. CRT TVs are still highly prized by people who love to play retro gaming systems like NES, SNES, SEGA, and Atari. Regarding power consumption, a CRT television can require up to 120 watts of power for a 24-inch display.
TV Types: A Comparison of Power Consumption
Regarding television type and power consumption, plasma TVs are by far the most power-hungry television type out there.
Regarding the most energy-conscious kind of television, LED televisions use the least electricity.
Here is a complete breakdown of the average energy a TV requires based on the television type and the screen size.
As you consider how much electricity a television uses, keep in mind the capacity of your power source. For example, if you want to run a television off-grid, the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro has a capacity of 768Wh, while the EcoFlow DELTA Pro boasts a 3600Wh capacity.
Average Electricity Consumption of Televisions by Screen Size and Type (in Watts)
| Screen size (Inches) | LED (Power consumption-watts) | OLED (Power consumption-watts) | LCD (Power consumption-watts) | CRT (Power consumption-watts) | Plasma |
| 15 inch TV | 15 | N/A | 18 | 65 | N/A |
| 17 inch TV | 18 | N/A | 20 | 75 | N/A |
| 19 inch TV | 20 | N/A | 22 | 80 | N/A |
| 20 inch TV | 24 | N/A | 26 | 90 | N/A |
| 21 inch TV | 26 | N/A | 30 | 100 | N/A |
| 22 inch TV | 30 | N/A | 40 | 110 | N/A |
| 24 inch TV | 35 | N/A | 50 | 120 | N/A |
| 30 inch TV | 38 | N/A | 60 | N/A | 150 |
| 32 inch TV | 41 | N/A | 70 | N/A | 160 |
| 37 inch TV | 44 | 66 | 80 | N/A | 180 |
| 40 inch TV | 50 | 72 | 100 | N/A | 200 |
| 42 inch TV | 57 | 75 | 120 | N/A | 220 |
| 50 inch TV | 72 | 89 | 150 | N/A | 300 |
| 55 inch TV | 80 | 98 | 180 | N/A | 370 |
| 60 inch TV | 88 | 107 | 200 | N/A | 500 |
Helpful Tips to Reduce TV Power Consumption
If you’re looking for ways to reduce your overall power consumption, the TV is a great place to start cutting back. Here are some of the most effective ways to cut power consumption when running a television in your home or RV.
- Don’t Leave On Standby Mode: You might be surprised how many people run their television even when they’re not watching it or even when they’re sleeping at night. When you’re not watching TV, make sure to completely power it down to conserve energy.
- Use Energy Saving Features: Most modern television sets come with energy-saving features like eco-mode, auto-brightness control, and many others. Utilize these built-in features to help reduce power consumption.
- Use A Power Station: By utilizing solar energy to power your home through a Whole Home Generator or a Smart Home Ecosystem, you can reduce your overall power consumption throughout the entire house. Even without incorporating solar power, you can use these systems to take advantage of off-peak hours to charge your system and use that stored power during peak times. These types of systems even allow you to make sure your most essential appliances, including the television, are kept running even in the event of a power outage.
- Adjust Brightness Settings: Default settings on TVs can come with high brightness and contrast settings. To conserve energy, turn these settings down. You won’t sacrifice picture quality by doing so, and this could also be better for the health of your eyes!
Frequently Asked Questions
The average household runs a television for 3 hours per day. At 3 hours per day, the average household uses approximately 493 Wh per day or 164 watts per hour.
If you keep your TV running all day at that 164 watts per hour average, you’ll use nearly 4kWh of electricity in 24 hours!
At 164 watts per hour, if you were to run your TV for 8 hours, it would consume approximately 1,312 Wh or around 1.3 kWh. By turning off your television when you’re not actively watching it, all of that energy savings really can add up over time.
Final Thoughts
No matter what kind of television you own, remember that they consume quite a bit of energy when in use. However, there are some things you can do to cut down on this electricity usage, such as powering it down when not in use, taking advantage of energy-saving features, and more.
You can do even more to cut down on your TV’s electricity usage — and that of your entire household — by setting up a solar energy system in your home by pairing solar panels with a portable power station.
Although you’re conserving energy by generating your own electricity from the sun, you’ll still want to conserve energy where you can so your solar power can go as far as possible when powering your home, RV, or off-grid lifestyle.
Whatever your power needs are, EcoFlow has a solution for you. Browse our selection today!