Green Daily

LCD or Plasma?

No, this isn't a post about resolution, contrast levels or burn-in. There are plenty of AV sites where fanboys/girls will gladly harangue you on why their brand pwns and most accurately reproduces the color of Yoda's skin tone. This is about something way sexier – that's right...energy efficiency. Because there's nothing hotter than spending a Saturday night calculating how many kWhs and $s you're saving by owning an energy efficient TV, or any other Energy Star appliance for that matter.

So, which TV technology is greener? In general, LCDs use less energy than plasmas. This is because LCDs use florescent backlighting to produce images, while plasmas use electricity to light each and every pixel you see on a screen - even the dark ones. Over the years, Plasma technology has significantly improved their energy consumption. Leading the way is Panasonic, who recently unveiled a more energy efficient prototype plasma display at CES 2008. Their new technology uses new phosphors and cell design technology which boasts doubled energy efficiency, which will put them on par with LCD technology. For now though, plasmas consume about 33% more power when compared to its LCD equivalent. In the interest of full disclosure – I personally own a 42-inch plasma display – but it's a display that doesn't have speakers which cuts down on power consumption considerably and is pretty much on par with an LCD TV (and more importantly, Yoda looks better on my screen than yours!).

The next big display technology is OLED or Organic Light Emitting Diode. The new Sony XEL-1 is the first production model; it features a 3mm thick panel and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, albeit with an 11-inch screen and $2,500 price tag. According to the Sony Style site, "OLED technology delivers a more efficient means of utilizing light, which is generated by the organic material itself instead of an always on backlight; also, when elements are in their "off" state, they consume no power whatsoever." To put this in perspective: electricity consumed by a traditional CRT TV can be halved with LCD TVs, and that number drops another 40% with an OLED. For that price and size though, I'd probably just buy an LCD for now and offset my emissions by purchasing some CO2 credits.

If you're in the market for a new TV, make sure you're buying a display you'll be happy looking at for as long as possible (buying a new set every few years is the opposite of good). And while you're at it, don't forget to take a peek at the spec sheet to evaluate power consumption. The planet and your wallet will thank you.

Sources:

Engadget
AVS Forum