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Plasma, LCD, or good old-fashioned CRT? With so many choices available, shopping for a television can be a brain teaser, especially if you're watching your carbon footprint at the same time.
All things being equal, LCDs use the least energy out of the three leading screen types. Plasma televisions use about 30 percent more electricity than an equivalent LCD, while a CRT guzzles three times more energy than the same-size LCD version, according to the Sierra Club.
If you think that an LCD television always trumps a CRT clunker in terms of energy efficiency, however, you're missing the big picture. Screen size is an important factor that can quickly overwhelm even an LCD's built-in energy savings. The surface of a 42-inch wide-screen television is four times that of a 20-inch model with the old 4-to-3 screen ratio, for instance. Although the LCD is more efficient square inch for inch, trading in your 20-inch CRT for a 42-inch LCD will result in a 20 percent increase in energy use.
The good news is that each generation of LCD and plasma screens are getting more efficient, with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) currently in the lead. But giant screens are often welcomed into homes with surround-speaker systems, DVD/digital video recorder machines, cable/high-definition set tops, and game consoles such as the Xbox or Wii. Homes with multiple televisions and their related peripherals can use twice as much power as a refrigerator, the reigning electrical hog in your home. ::Sierra Club
Difficulty level: Moderate
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