Should I Leave My HDTV and Computer Monitors On to Save Money?
HTG
Dear HTG,
I’ve heard so many conflicting accounts regarding energy consumption and televisions/computer monitors. Should I turn them off when not in use or leave them on? Does it really take more energy to start them up than it does to leave them running?
Sincerely,
Energy Confused in Cordova
Dear Energy Confused,
The whole takes-more-energy to start thing is a myth. That said we’re going to answer your question in two parts. First, regarding HDTV sets. TV sets have no power save/sleep mode like computer monitors so it’s best to turn them off if you’re going to be away from them for more than a quick bathroom break and snack run. Although modern HDTV sets are quite efficient (the 65” monster in our lounge consumes less energy than a 75 watt light bulb) there’s absolutely no reason to leave them on if you’re not actively watching them—consider it the same as turning off the lights when you leave the room.
Monitors are a slightly different story. Depending on your monitor size and design (LED versus CFL backlighting, brightness settings, etc.) energy consumption can range between 16-160 watts. If your monitor is Energy Star compliant it must consume 1 watt or less while turned off and 2 watts or less while in sleep/standby mode.
If you set your monitors to have an aggressive sleep mode (say, they go into sleep mode after 10 minutes of inactivity) you might as well leave them on all the time. Given the off chance that you’ll forget to turn them off once in awhile the total net savings over a year leaving them on but with aggressive power saving modes versus trying to remember to turn them off at every turn, you’ll come out ahead by letting the computer manage them for you.
If you don’t have an Energy Star monitor, however, it’s best you get in the habit of turning the monitor off whenever you get up from the computer. Non-Energy Star monitors can have erratic standby power consumption—one model might fall within Energy Star guidelines with a light 0.5 watt consumption and another might pull down 15-20 watts in standby).
If you’re deathly curious you can always order this, click;
P3 Kill-A-Watt electricity monitor
to check out the actual power consumption for all your devices.
Thanks to Geek Jason Fitspatrick