Energy saving mode on televisions is a popular feature, but does it really save energy? The answer is yes, but not as much as people think. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), televisions in energy saving mode use about one-third less energy than when they are not in energy saving mode. However, there are a few caveats to this finding. First, TVs in energy saving mode typically use more power when they are first turned on because the TV needs to initialize its settings. Second, TVs in energy saving mode may consume more power if they are used for activities like watching video or gaming that require high levels of graphics or sound quality. Third, some TVs have features that allow them to automatically turn off after a certain amount of time if they haven’t been used or if the room is dark. All of these factors can contribute to increased electricity consumption over time. Overall, then, televisions in energy saving mode use less electricity than when they are not in that mode, but there are trade-offs involved and it’s important to consider all of the factors involved before making any decisions about using this feature. ..
What Is Energy Saving Mode?
Picture modes on your TV are presets for different brightness, contrast, and saturation levels. You can usually adjust these things separately, but the modes do it all for you.
“Energy Saving” mode is simply designed to optimize these settings for saving power. The most obvious way it does this is by dimming the screen. Energy Saving mode will typically be the dimmest of all the modes available on your TV.
Simply put, whether it’s called “Energy Saver,” “Power Saving,” or “Eco Mode,” these picture modes imply your TV will use less energy. Is that true?
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The Data
Enough talk, let’s get down to the data. Using a smart plug that can measure wattage, I recorded the energy usage from three different TVs at all of their available picture modes. All three had an “Energy Saving” mode, “Vivid” mode, and “Standard” mode.
Two of the TVs have a “Theater” mode that had a similar effect on power usage as the Energy Saving modes. In fact, the bigger 4K TV uses the least amount of power in this mode. That’s because theater modes typically dim the display for dark rooms.
Some of the differences between Energy Saving modes and other modes are not as pronounced. The smaller 1080p TVs don’t have major differences between Energy Saving and the higher power usage modes. The difference is bigger on the 4K TV, which uses more power overall.
Does It Matter?
What can we take from this admittedly small sample size of data? First of all, Energy Saving mode is clearly doing something. That may not be super surprising—of course a dimmer display requires less energy. Still, it is nice to know “Energy Saving Mode” is not an empty marketing term.
Let’s say your electricity rate is $0.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and you have a 4K TV similar to the one in the chart above. Watching TV for four hours a day with Energy Saving mode would cost around $1.90 per month/$23 per year. At the highest energy usage mode, you’re looking at around $2.50 per month/$30 per year.
You’re essentially saving $7 a year for a slightly worse picture on your TV. Are the energy and money savings enough to make that worth it? That’s entirely up to you. If you have a very large, ultra-high-definition TV, maybe it makes a big enough difference. However, if you have that TV, you probably want it to look the best it can.
Energy Saving mode could be a good “every day” mode to use while you switch back to “Standard” or “Vivid” mode for movies or other things you want to really shine. At the end of the day, it does save energy, but it may not be enough to matter to you.
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