Do LED TVs save real money?

And why watching TV is one of the greenest activities...

The shortest answer is yes, they do save money over plasma, and less so over traditional CFL backlit LCD TVs. But real money? No, let's not get carried away by that Energy Star rating.

First let's look at how much a flat screen TV actually costs you in energy cost per month (ecpm). Of course the larger the TV the more it costs you per month to run. For reference we'll use 50" to 58" since costs are more significant the larger the TV. LED TVs are touted as huge energy savers if you look at manufacturer specifications or listen to the conventional wisdom of the media. Would you be surprised to know that at 5 hours per day and assuming a .10 per kWh (kilowatt hour) power rate your cost per month of running an average 55" LED TV is around Rs 100. That's right Rs 100 per month. Not a huge contributor to my Rs 5000+ monthly bill. Whew! I can feel good and green while viewing away my weekends. Because if I'm only spending Rs 100 a month to watch TV, then think of all that petrol I'm saving – not driving around.

For the following let's continue to assume our .10 per kWh rate and 5 hours per day of viewing

Are LED TVs more energy efficient than LCD TVs? Yes, slightly. You might save on average Rs 2  a day – or a whopping Rs 60 a month by using the more energy efficient LED TV, not even enough for a cup of coffee at a good coffee joint.

How about Plasma TVs? How much more per month are you spending by running a plasma TV? Well, since plasma TVs have been the worst in energy consumption in the past, they also had room for the biggest improvement. An average 50" plasma TV would have run you around 2.75 last year, while the newer improved 50" plasma TVs for this year would run you Rs 125. For comparison with LED TVs though let's look at larger sizes as well. A couple years ago a 58" plasma TV might have drawn 325watts costing around Rs 300 per month. OK that's getting more significant. Recent editions though are more efficient pulling 180watts for a cost of Rs 160. Adjusted for size then at 55" size TV a plasma should cost you Rs 50 more per month, Rs 600 a year or the cost of one family going to the movies and purchasing a small popcorn – if your lucky, maybe a matinee

There is one little known fact about LED TVs and other TV technologies alike that will lower your power bill (very slightly), but more importantly will extend the life of your TV. Take care with the contrast setting and backlight strength of the TV (LED backlighting can be adjusted, there is no backlight in plasma TVs). Out of the box, many TVs are preset to Dynamic picture setting mode which has contrast and backlight tweaked all the way to 100%. Changing this picture mode setting to Standard mode will immediately bring down contrast and backlight, while using the Warm setting will bring even lower contrast and often more realism to the picture. As well, the Dynamic mode brings into play many nasty picture artifacts and false edges on images that you dont want. Changing these picture settings or calibrating properly has as much or more to do with your TV power usage than which TV technology you decide to purchase