Spokane7
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December 6, 2010 in City, Idaho
Avista engineer says flat-screen TVs can affect electric bill
Tom Lienhard, shown in a conference room Nov. 30 at Avista, knows that flat-screen TVs are all the rage, but he would like people to think about their “plug load” as they upgrade electronics in their homes.
(Full-size photo)
At 55, Tom Lienhard is old enough to remember his family’s first color-picture TV. New technology in TV screens is as revolutionary as the switch from black-and-white to color, says Lienhard, an Avista engineer who oversees the company’s energy-efficiency programs.
But new TVs can be energy hogs. They’re becoming one of the largest electricity users in homes. To keep costs down, Lienhard recommends a little research.
Q. What should people consider before buying a new TV?
A. They should walk through all the costs. It’s exciting to go into a retail store and see the best-presented device that you could possibly buy. But there are things to consider. Is it going to be too big for your house? As a rule of thumb, you should be twice the distance away from the TV’s diagonal size for optimum viewing. So, if you have a 48-inch screen TV, you should be eight feet away.
The second thing is: What does it take to get this picture? Do I get this signal through the air, or do I have to upgrade my cable or satellite TV to get this kind of a picture? And lastly, what will this TV cost me in energy use?
Q. How do flat screens compare for energy use?
A. There are three flavors of flat-screen TVs right now: the plasma TV, the LCD and just coming on the market is the LED. In general, the plasmas use about 1.75 times the energy as the LCD and LED. Some people prefer plasma, and that’s fine. Just remember to turn it off when you’re not watching it.
Q. How does screen size affect energy use?
A. On average, a 52-inch LCD TV uses about twice as much energy as a 32-inch LCD TV.
Q. What about add-ons?
A. Once you get your big-screen TV, you decide that you’re going to put in a surround sound system. … Often, it gets turned on and left on all the time … and you possibly have a cable box or a satellite box that takes energy to run … and a digital video recorder tied into that. DVRs, if you have them on all the time and you’re using them to record, use as much electricity as a refrigerator, or 2 1/2 dishwashers.
Q. So the total damage is?
A. Potentially hundreds of dollars per year. If you switch from a little tube TV to a big-screen TV with a full-blown system, you could increase your plug load by 20 percent. (Plug load is electrical use from plugged-in devices.)
Q. How can people enjoy their new TV and keep costs down?
A. … If they look for the bright orange “Energy Forward” icon, they’re getting electronics that are at least 30 percent more efficient than the Energy Star program. I also like smart strips (a type of power strip). Anytime your TV goes off, any other part of the system plugged into the strip goes off. … Or, you can use a plug-in load meter. It shows you how much energy you’re using.
Q. How many TVs do you own?
A. We have four TVs in our home for two people. In our family room, we have side-by-side screens … Sometimes, NASCAR is going when you want to watch something else.
Miners to return to Lucky Friday 
liarsinnews on December 06 at 7:27 a.m.
I guess AVISTA decided not to show comparisons like how many 100 watt light bulbs etc versus the size of the screen. The story might be a cover up for your forth coming electric bill that the sell out Washington Utility Commission allowed to AVISTA.
misjustice on December 06 at 7:31 a.m.
Avista engineer says flat-screen TVs can affect electric bill.
Meanwhile, back on earth, a customer of AVISTA says continual rate increases, charging customers for items such as “professional photographs” and parties, and through the roof CEO compensation can affect electric bill; and not in a good way.
mikeln on December 06 at 7:42 a.m.
It has been in the energy industries best interest to make sure what we use takes as much power as it possibly can. We have phantom power, the power things use when we are not useing them. I live off grid and when I turn my power off, I turn it off, nothing is taking any juice. If you are on the meter, turn everything off and go look at that meter, it will still be chargeing you. I get a laugh everytime I see somone from the energy industry saying they are doing every thing possible to lower your power bill. It’s like a drug dealer telling you that you don’t need his product.
lewis8457 on December 06 at 7:51 a.m.
Isn’t it odd how when Avista shoves another increase down our throats they give all these great ideas how to save power so you might be able to keep warm this year?
It is like putting a wolf in a chicken cage and trying to tell the chicken farmer the wolf wont eat any.
Avista we get it you don’t care stop with the friendly tips already.
misjustice on December 06 at 8:01 a.m.
It’s all the TeeVee’s fault that your bill is high!
This article is just more “free” advertising for AVISTA; one of the SR’s largest advertisers.
And then Dan, Dan the Corporate Man will be along soon to put his spin on this story; adding up more “free” advertising for the corporate masters.
I’m glad that I heat my little cottage with wood; a renewable resource.
liarsinnews on December 06 at 8:31 a.m.
Danny boy always gets pissed off when I bring up the low life Avista officials who tried to blame a dead man for their gambling at the largest casino in the world, Wall Street. These ghouls forgot to look at the calendar and got caught blaming the poor soul, an employee that had committed suicide. He had been dead for several days when the dice that AVISTA threw were craps. The SR took there time publishing the story and it finally printed it long after most newspapers in the country had.
spokanecougar on December 06 at 10:42 a.m.
Avista sucks, they don’t care about saving us money, if they did they would stop raising our rates, stop throwing huge retirement parties for corporate managers, stop flying first class around the world on their costumers higher rates, and stop paying their CEO and other managers outrageously high salaries that most people could only dream of while their customers struggle to pay their heating bill every month.
Screw you Avista, you should be a PUD, not a for profit company making money on people freezing to death.
Teseract on December 06 at 12:24 p.m.
I don’t know about this “twice as far as the diagonal measurement of your TV”. I have a 65” DLP TV and I sit about 8 feet away and it’s perfect. 11 feet away would ruin the “in the movie” effect.
Note that my 65” DLP pulls 110 watts, much less than a 50” LCD, and way less than a 50” plasma. A 50” plasma can draw as much as 600 watts, most LCDs are around 350-400 for the larger sizes, depending on back lighting method.
They also don’t mention the amount of money you save on $12+ movie tickets per person plus fuel if you move over to the big TV and surround sound as your primary movie watching device, much less the money saved on concessions. The last movie I saw in the theater was Avatar, and I walked away from that one wondering why I bothered spending the money. Of course that could have just been the movie…
Never mind the money you save on doctors visits and cold medications from avoiding all the disease-spewing people you’re packed elbow to elbow with in the theater. Modern theater seats make economy class on an airliner look spacious, and I’m a big guy. I usually walk out of the theater with big red rings on my elbows from the stupid cup holders on the arms of the seats and a strong desire to take a massive overdose of vitamin C after spending 2 hours with someone’s sick child coughing on me from one row back.
Pilewort54 on December 06 at 12:31 p.m.
I have a great idea how to save on your electric bill—at least those of you regulars on here who seem to have no job, no life and no constructive ideas:
Turn off your computer.
Judging from your continually whiney, negative posts, you’d all be much happier.
liarsinnews on December 06 at 3:49 p.m.
Why is it AVISTA encourages Christmas tree lights? The cash register till at AVISTA has to ringing jingle bells like crazy.
Thayne on December 06 at 4:13 p.m.
Hey Gwen when you show up for work at Avista tomorrow you can have a laugh with the rest of your hommies about how you zinged us. Avista has increased their rates double digits for the last few years regardless of the fact that the worst recession since the great depression was in full swing. I enjoy a good scream at the radio when the commercial from avista comes on say how people can donate money to help less fortunate folks with their utility costs. Maybe if the greedy share holders and upper management decided not to raise rates at 10 times the rate of the cost of living people wouldn’t need help. I know a gentleman that keeps his house at 50 degrees so he can afford the bill.