CTA Responds to Latest ENERGY STAR Specifications for TVs

The following statement is attributed to Douglas Johnson, vice president of technology policy, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding the ENERGY STAR Televisions V8.0 Specification released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

    "EPA’s latest specification for televisions is another milestone and testament to the importance of voluntary programs such as ENERGY STAR. These programs are the most effective way to deliver meaningful cost and energy savings to consumers, while keeping pace with evolving TV technology. Televisions have become an energy efficiency success story thanks to innovation and these flexible, market-driven programs.

    “This specification development process presented some challenges. As longtime champions of ENERGY STAR, CTA and its members urged EPA to revise its proposed requirements impacting consumers’ overall TV-viewing experience. While some problematic issues were resolved, others, such as brightness requirements, remain a concern in the final version.”

   A recent CTA study showed that while today’s LCD televisions have increased in screen size and resolution capabilities - they look and perform better, and can do more than ever - they consume 76 percent less energy on a unit area basis than they did in 2003. A separate CTA report found that consumer tech devices now account for 25 percent less energy consumption in U.S. homes than they did in 2010 - even though the number of in-home devices increased 21 percent.