Twice has a nice article about a new wave of flat panel TVs with lower energy consumption.  The EPA’s Energy Star 3.0 regulations have push the industry to become more efficient without compromising quality. Most Flat Panel TVs consume more power that older CRT TVs.

“One of the first things the LCD TV Association’s Green TV program did was to show manufacturers that if you used an inexpensive ambient light sensor in a TV, you could save at least 30 percent on energy when you turn the lights out in the room,”

Energy Star 3.0 requires less than 1 watt of power usage when the TV is off and  has a formula for maximum energy use based on screen size.

Panasonc has NeoPDP technology in all 2009 plasma TVs to save energy.

Sony has a new Eco TV, the Bravia VE5 series coming out summer 2009.

Samsung has LCD TVs with lower power LED backlighting in 30-40% of its 2009 models.

Look for the power consumption of your new TV before you buy it.

As a general rule, Plasma flat panel TVs use far more power than LCD ones.

WSJ had an article on Eco-Savvy TVs  with many vendors producing new products that save energy, some exceeding Energy Star standards.  It is great that the industry is moving in the right direction. TVs use a lot of energy, the #3 energy user in home.  My set uses 350W when running full bore.

As always there is a catch with many products. “Vizio’s 32-inch Eco HDTV is priced at roughly $500, while a standard Vizio 32-inch TV can cost between $400 and $450.”  It remains to be seen how fast you can save $100 in power costs over the life of the TV.  California CEC estimates that new energy efficient TVs could save $18 to $30 in power a year.

We covered how to save energy with your flat screen TV by adjusting its picture settings and by using a power strip to turn it off.

Other tips: Try to buy a TV that is Energy Star compliant and that has power savings modes and use it.

My Sony XBR LCD TV has a Power Saving setting you can set to OFF, Low, High, and Picture OFF.  It also has a PC Power Management setting to have the TV save energy when there is no signal.