NEWS GENERAL

As of November 30th, a new EU label to identify the power consumption of televisions has binding validity. Without a consumption limit like this, electricity consumption of television sets in Europe will double by 2020, according to estimates.


The culprit is the trend to large-format displays (more than 32 inches) and towards owning a second and third TV (currently 1.3 to 2.1 units per household). Since August 2010, new TV sets must therefore be at least as efficient as the 2007 market average. From April 2012, demand in general will be intensified by 20 per cent, with full-HD TVs even by 30 per cent, according to the dena.

The consumer initiative BUND criticizes, however, that the new badge is already outdated, as it will lose effect soon due to the rapid development of the market: One quarter of new the devices listed in the Bund TV Finder is able to reach the top grade A, while classes D to G are barely occupied.


For the first time, a coherent pan-European energy label is introduced for televisions. A is considered the best energy efficiency class. (Image: European Commission)

As the BUND states, the demands for TVs notes do not correspond to what is technically feasible – producing televisions that consume 50 per cent less energy. Moreover, there are no fixed brightness conditions, according to which TV vendors determine the apparently low power consumption of their sets, according to this video from German economic and consumer magazine WISO.