We love TV. Even better, we love big TV. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our passions. Most notably, the California Energy Commission.
In case you've been too busy, well... watching TV, the Golden State wants to cut down some of the state's power consumption. The plan is to get tough on TV manufacturers. According to Greg Tarr at Twice, if the proposed standard gets the thumbs up, televisions measuring up to 58 inches would need to use 30 percent less electricity by 2011. By 2013, that number goes up to 50 percent.
Right now, since this is a California bill, the deal would only apply to that state. Also, before you start boarding up your windows to hide from the power police, this standard would only apply to TVs sold after January 1, 2011. It sounds super, in theory. Everyone wants to save electricity, right? Well, saving a few bucks on utilities may cost you up front -- as well as in the long run. It also may limit your buying choices.
After all, we have to wonder what effect the proposed standard would have on the rest of the country, as well as the consumer electronics industry as a whole. The legislation could criple the plasma market, since these TVs generally use more power than comparably sized LCD TVs (though many plasmas are more efficient than the old CRT TVs they may replace). For the rest, we could see price increases and fewer choices as the legislation prevents the sale of models that miss the CEC's arbitrarily imposed goal. Do you think that electronics manufacturers want to make special TVs for special markets?
We won't hold our breath -- even if that would effect power consumption. Some are having a hard time accepting the CEC's proposal. According to Rasmussen Reports, 63 percent of Americans don't want the government telling them what kind of TV to buy. They aren't alone. The Consumer Electronics Association recently addressed the CEC, with 91 pages' worth of reasons why such a standard is completely unnecessary. Manufacturers of both LCD and plasma televisions continue to improve power efficiency with new models. Panasonic's new neoPDP panel, introduced this year, saves up to 50% of power consumption over the previous year's models, and Samsung's new LED edge-lit LCD TVs consume far less power than other LCD and plasma models. These advances have come from market demands, not legislative ones.
Ultimately the CEA (and we) are most worried about what this standard could mean to advances in TV technology - will picture quality have to be sacrificed in order to reach unrealistic power consumption guidelines? Shouldn't that choice be left to the consumer?
Rasmussen participants agree, with 66 percent of Americans opposing a law that would ban big-screen TVs to save energy. The CEC says they are not planning to ban any specific type of TV. According to the CEC's website, "Consumers have the freedom to choose any type and size of television that meets the efficiency standard."
Semantics? Possibly. The CEC plans to make its decision on November 18.
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