Televisions got much bigger and much cheaper to run at the same time, which is why the old advice about unplugging the TV to save money no longer holds up. A 65-inch LED today draws less than a 32-inch plasma did in 2009.
A modern LED television draws around 90 W while on, costing about [hed_cost appliance=”tv” period=”hour”] an hour at [hed_var key=”us_rate_cents” format=”cents”] per kWh. Five hours a day for a month is [hed_cost appliance=”tv” period=”month”], and a year of that pattern is [hed_cost appliance=”tv” period=”year”]. A 55-inch set is closer to 60 to 90 W; a large OLED playing HDR content can reach 200 W in bright scenes.
Screen size, panel type and the setting that costs most
Screen size drives most of the difference, but panel type and picture settings matter more than people expect. An OLED draws power per lit pixel, so a dark film uses noticeably less than a bright sports broadcast. An LED-backlit LCD draws fairly steadily regardless of content, unless it has local dimming.
The setting that costs the most is the shop display mode many sets ship in, sometimes called Vivid or Dynamic. It runs the backlight at maximum. Switching to a Standard, Movie or Eco picture mode typically cuts television power draw by 20 to 40 percent and, as an accidental bonus, usually looks better.
[hed_wattage_matrix appliance=”tv”]Cost by hours watched per day
[hed_hours_matrix appliance=”tv”]Roughly what each screen size draws
These are typical figures for LED-backlit sets in a normal picture mode. OLED panels of the same size vary far more with content, so treat them as a range rather than a number.
- 32 inch: about 30 to 45 W, roughly [hed_cost appliance=”tv” watts=”40″ period=”hour”] an hour.
- 43 inch: about 50 to 70 W.
- 55 inch: about 60 to 90 W, roughly [hed_cost appliance=”tv” watts=”75″ period=”hour”] an hour.
- 65 inch: about 90 to 130 W.
- 75 inch and above: about 120 to 200 W, and higher again on HDR content.
The pattern is that power scales with screen area rather than with the diagonal number people quote. Going from 55 to 65 inches is a 40 percent increase in area, and the wattage tends to follow.
The set-top box problem
Work out the cost of everything plugged in around the television and the picture often changes. A television watched five hours a day is off for nineteen. The boxes attached to it may not be.
- An older cable or satellite DVR drawing 25 W around the clock uses 219 kWh a year, which is [hed_cost appliance=”tv” watts=”25″ hours=”24″ period=”year”] at current rates. That is more than the television.
- A games console left in instant-on or rest mode typically draws 10 to 15 W continuously so it can download updates.
- A soundbar with a wireless subwoofer commonly draws 5 to 10 W in standby, because the subwoofer is listening for the bar.
A single switched power strip for the entertainment equipment, excluding anything that needs to record on a schedule, deals with all of this in one move.
How to check your own set
Two reliable methods. The energy label or the manufacturer specification sheet gives a tested annual figure in kWh, usually based on a standard number of viewing hours; divide it out to get a per-hour number for your own habits. Or use a plug-in energy monitor, which costs about twenty dollars and reports actual draw in your actual picture mode with your actual content.
The second method is worth doing once if you have a large OLED, because the gap between the specification figure and real-world HDR viewing can be substantial in either direction.
Standby is no longer the problem
Standby draw used to be a real argument. It is not anymore. Regulations have pushed most sets to under 1 W in standby, which is around a dollar a year. Unplugging the television at the wall saves an amount of money you would struggle to notice.
The exception is the equipment around it. Older cable and satellite boxes can draw 15 to 30 W continuously whether you are watching or not, which over a year adds up to more than the television. A soundbar with a subwoofer, a games console left in instant-on mode and a set-top box together can easily exceed the screen itself.
TV cost across electricity rates
[hed_rate_matrix appliance=”tv”]TV running cost by state
[hed_state_costs appliance=”tv”]How this compares to everything else you plug in
Per hour, against everything else in the living room and office.
[hed_compare_table appliances=”tv,game-console,gaming-pc,desktop-computer,laptop,wifi-router”]Questions people actually ask
[hed_faq]How much does it cost to run a TV for a year?About [hed_cost appliance=”tv” period=”year”] for a 90 W set watched five hours a day at the US average rate. Larger or brighter sets can be double that.
How many watts does a 55 inch TV use?Typically 60 to 90 W for an LED model in a normal picture mode. An OLED of the same size ranges more widely with content, from about 50 W on dark scenes to 180 W or more on bright HDR.
Does leaving a TV on standby cost much?Under a dollar a year on any set made in the last decade. Standby power is capped at very low levels by efficiency rules. It is not worth unplugging for cost reasons.
Which uses more electricity, a TV or a laptop?A large television usually uses more. A 90 W TV against a 60 W laptop is the typical comparison, though a big OLED against a small laptop widens that gap considerably.
Does picture mode change how much electricity a TV uses?Substantially. Vivid or Dynamic mode runs the backlight at full and can use 20 to 40 percent more than Standard or Movie mode on the same content.
Do older plasma TVs use more electricity?Yes, by a wide margin. A 50-inch plasma commonly drew 300 to 500 W against 70 to 100 W for a modern LED of the same size. If you still run a plasma, it is one of the larger loads in the room.[/hed_faq]
Related running costs
[hed_related appliances=”game-console,gaming-pc,laptop,desktop-computer,wifi-router”]Running it on solar
A television uses [hed_daily_energy appliance=”tv”] a day, which needs about [hed_panels_needed appliance=”tv”] standard 400 W panels. Full array, battery and inverter sizing is on how many solar panels to run a television.