Green Daily

Think that flat panel TV in your living room only cost a bit more than your old CRT model? While the prices of LCD and plasma televisions has been falling steadily for the last few years, the truth is they still use far more electricity than old fashioned tube-based television sets. Get a big enough TV, through in some surround sound speakers and a few other entertainment goodies and you could be spending as much as $200 extra per year just to power your home entertainment system.

And that would be fine if it was just you. But Con Edison officials say that they've seen record energy usage this winter in the New York area. And they blame energy-hogging home entertainment devices like flat panel TVs.

Of course, you can't blame your TV for everything. Americans have become addicted to electronics, from cellphones to computers to big ole TV sets. And it all adds up. Of course, there's a good way to offset the electricity used by your gadgets: turn them off every once in a while and go for a walk or read a book. And if you're in the market for an HDTV, you might want to take its power use into consideration before pulling out your wallet.