The need for a green display strategy

The timing for the energy regulation and standards of TVs is shown in the following graph.
Select graph to enlarge.

In case you have not heard, California will be regulating the energy that can be used by television sets after January 1, 2011. Despite the complaints of consumer electronics industry players, the California Energy Commission (CEC) voted last November to adopt a proposal for regulating the maximum energy consumption of television sets. With their unanimous vote, the commissioners are planning a path to a low-energy future for TVs. The CEC is now preparing the documents to pass to the Office of Administrative Law, which will check the regulation for compliance with State Codes. If this all goes as planned, the regulation will take effect on January 1st, 2011, when the maximum on-mode power consumption of all television sets smaller than 58 in (diagonal) sold in Calif. will be limited according to a formula calculating the power limit as a function of screen size (Tier 1). Two years later the upper power limits will be reduced further (Tier 2).

Many articles have been published on how this amendment to the Californian Appliance Efficiency Regulation either supports the environment or harms the local retail infrastructure. Attempting to separate facts from fiction, we will take a look at the time line, other energy guidelines and the effect on current television sets sold in the US.

Let's start with the Energy Star program, which the federal government instituted many years ago. Energy Star provides guidelines for television sets and has done so successfully for quite some time. In contrast to the CEC regulation, Energy Star is a marketing incentive program (sometimes augmented with tax credits for energy efficient appliances). The current TV standard 3.0 of will soon be replaced by version 4.0 and then 5.0.

Select graph to enlarge.

What is the key driver for the California Energy Commission to take such drastic steps? While the newer flat panels TVs are more energy efficient than their older CRT cousins, the newer models are sold in much larger sizes. This is actually leading to more overall power consumption. According to CEC, TVs in Calif. are using around 10% of residential energy, or 2% of the gross electrical usage.

Other groups, like the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), claim this number is too high. It seems no accurate numbers are available to date, a situation that might be changing in the future with Internet-connected TVs. Overall, California fears that larger and larger TVs will push this number even higher, leading to energy supply issues in the not far-off future.

CEC calculates that the new regulation will account for energy savings of 6,515 GWh per year once all TVs have been replaced with compliant models. This number is not trivial by any means (even if the estimate is somewhat optimistic), as it almost equates to the yearly output of two 500-MW power plants. Pacific Gas and Electric was the driving force behind the CEC regulations, so one can surmise that eliminating the building of new power plants was a significant consideration in the decision.

The amendment regulates televisions, but computer monitors are specifically excluded from the regulation. We can expect future disputes on the inclusion of Internet devices. For example, does a 26-in desktop display with an embedded tuner and multi-sync PC capabilities count as an included TV or an excluded PC monitor?

The definition becomes even more debatable for Pro AV components, especially for any displays used outdoors. These displays in the 1000+nit range will definitely exceed the power consumption limits. Based on a response of the CEC, it expects all Pro AV outdoor and hospitality TVs to comply with its efficiency standards. In more detail, it expects outdoor TVs to incorporate light sensors that will be charged with a maximum of 300 lux to reduce backlight output and so fulfill the CEC requirements. This essentially means that light-sensing technology must be present in these displays - something not commonly done today.