NYT piece : some TV sets now "bigger power hogs than some refrigerators" ..................................
October 8, 2009, 12:26 pm
Massachusetts Mulls TV Efficiency Rules
By Kate Galbraith
Massachusetts is considering adopting energy-efficiency requirements for televisions, becoming the only state — besides California — weighing such a move.
On Wednesday, the Joint Committee for Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy of the Massachusetts legislature heard testimony on a bill that would create efficiency standards for seven products, including DVD players and electric spas — though televisions are the most controversial.
There are no federal energy-efficiency requirements for televisions, which — as they have become larger and fancier — have turned out to be bigger power hogs than some refrigerators. Next month, California is likely to enact the nation’s first TV efficiency requirements, and a hearing on the subject is taking place on Tuesday in Sacramento.
Televisions are included under Energy Star, a voluntary national program that gives its label to product models that are more efficient than their peers. Energy Star has drafted updated standards (called version 5.0) that would go into effect in 2012 and that would limit all televisions to 108 watts, regardless of size. (See the flat line on the chart above.)
According to energy experts at Ecos Consulting and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 2012 Energy Star stipulations would be the first time — for any appliance — that energy use would be flatly capped.
For all other products, the permitted energy usage (under both required standards and the voluntary Energy Star program) increases with the size of the appliance.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company. |
