Oct 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rick Montgomery The Kansas City Star, Mo.


We all scream for flat screens, even in a flat economy.

But the bigger picture, many say, is one of unnecessary stress on the nation's electricity supply for years to come.

In a culture that resists carbon-emitting power plants but covets the latest gadgetry -- high-speed here, high-def there and knowing "there's an app for that" -- well, there's also an electric bill for that.

Televisions, in a sizzling comeback, are leading the pixilated pack and stirring the most concern among energy conservationists. California is even poised to require that new models be more efficient.

Since 2000, "we've seen energy consumption from TVs jump from 3 percent (of residential electric use) to 8 percent and climbing," said Adam Gottlieb of the California Energy Commission.

"If we sat on our hands and did nothing ... we would need to build a $615 million power plant" just to feed all of the state's hungry flat-panels by 2020.

Sales of TV sets are through the roof, where the antenna used to be.

"Here we are in a terrible economic time and the demand for TVs of all kinds has grown incredibly," said Tamaryn Pratt of Quixel Research, which tracks market trends.

Experts attribute much of the surge -- an estimated 35 million digital sets shipped to dealers this year, up from 25 million in 2007-- to plunging prices and the nation's recent switch to digital broadcasting.

Even as polls show television audiences moving to computers for entertainment, Nielsen numbers show Americans with more working TVs than ever before (roughly 3 sets per home now, compared with 2.1 in 1990).

And those sets are switched on 8 1/2 hours a day per household, an hour longer than a decade ago.

Credit some of the increased viewing to DVD players and game consoles connected to the TVs.

Big screens, big bills

HD sets are becoming more energy efficient each year, the industry notes. But because newer models are sleeker and many pounds lighter than those bulky analog TVs of old, much larger screens are now practical and popular -- and that's where most of the energy burns.

Depending on the size and brightness of the screen -- and, of course, the amount of use -- a flat-panel TV hooked to a cable or satellite box, plus a digital recorder, eats 5 to 10 percent of a home's electricity, studies show.

When the sets are on, their energy thirst rivals that of some refrigerators.

The product review site Cnet.com lists some 65-inch plasma screens soaking up more than $150 worth of power in a year, although the energy costs of smaller HDTVs are typically less than $60.

Add to your new HDTV other innovations of the digital age -- your laptop, Xbox, iPod and cell phone charger.

Now stir in the "phantom load" of 1 to 5 watts simmering all day through remote-operated devices. All of this gadgetry combined can guzzle 15 percent of your household power, according to the International Energy Agency.

It's not that a liquid crystal display -- or LCD, the most popular of the newer TVs -- hogs more energy than an analog picture tube of similar screen size. But because flat panels are so versatile, larger screens (dinky ones, too) can easily be placed on walls, desktops and StairMasters anywhere.

"In health clubs, bars, airports, hotel hallways," even above restroom urinals, Gottlieb said.

To avoid building that extra coal-fired plant, he said, California has drafted first-in-the-nation mandates for energy efficiency in TVs. The energy commission is expected to pass the regulations next month.

The aim is for all but the largest screens sold in the state to meet standards similar to those encouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, which is voluntary. By 2013, Gottlieb said, the rules will save enough power to electrify "864,000 single-family homes, year after year."

In the 1990s, federal regulations on refrigerators and other large appliances echoed efforts first undertaken in California. Energy-cutting advocates credit the rules for making today's refrigerators 45 percent more efficient.

Manufacturers have lobbied hard to keep Washington from enacting mandates on home electronics -- TVs, personal computers and battery chargers. President Barack Obama pledges to look into setting some rules.

Jennifer Bemisderfer of the Consumer Electronics Association said government tinkering would only stifle innovation and undercut "the flexibility that's needed for a fast-moving industry. ... Regulations just can't keep up."

Some experts question how much effect the latest products have on efforts to conserve electricity and curb greenhouse gases.

A typical laptop computer, when churning, uses about 40 watts -- 1/100th the power of a running clothes dryer.

And even when a 42-inch TV is illuminating the room at 250 watts, "it's like having a few extra light bulbs on," said Michael Bluejay, who goes by "Mr. Electricity" on his Saving Electricity Web site.

Much of the extra juice needed to power our high-tech stuff is offset by savings we've reaped from increasingly efficient washers, air conditioners and windows, Bluejay noted.

"Before you obsess about TV consumption in your home, you should obsess about the heating, cooling and lighting."

College conservation

The Kansas City Star found evidence of his point on some college campuses -- fertile ground for the latest in consumer electronics.

"Just when you upgrade a building's efficiencies for lighting, here come more gadgets" that require juicing, said University of Kansas housing director Diana Robertson.

Then she dug through electric bills for McCollum Hall, which houses 900 students, to check usage going back 12 years.

To her surprise, the power load last spring semester was a few hundred thousand kilowatt-hours under 1997 levels.

Did weather make the difference? Or was it all those energy-efficient light bulbs, one fixture at a time?

Lots of students, come to think of it, did trade their 300-watt rack stereo systems for small iPods and earbuds.

At the University of Missouri-Kansas City, officials reported similar energy reductions, however slight, in the last 10 years at a residence hall. Same at the Columbia campus.

Laura Lutz, a conservation accountant for Westar Energy, speculated that big screens in college common areas may actually benefit the environment. Like public buses, they serve crowds of students, who otherwise would tune in alone in their rooms.

As for the meter dials of Westar customers, electricity use last year, per household, was up a mere 2 percent from 1998 levels.

"What I'd like to think," Lutz said, "is the prevalence of information out there on how to save energy has made a difference."

------

HOW TO REDUCE THE JUICE

Here are some ways to cut back on the electricity powering your favorite stuff:

--Use power strips that you can click off to stop the "phantom" current flowing into your devices.

--Disconnect chargers as soon as your cell phones and MP3 players are juiced up.

--Wait before you replace that TV. They'll be more efficient in two years. Some will even have sensors that turn off the set when nobody is in the room.

--Reduce the brightness on your screens. HDTVs are commonly set to "vivid" in the stores. You can live with "standard" in your den.

--Set your computer to "sleep" when not in use.

To reach Rick Montgomery, call 816-234-4410 or send e-mail to rmontgomery@kcstar.com.

(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services