For conservationists, it's a pretty picture: California just became the first state to adopt energy-efficiency standards for televisions.
Needless to say, TV makers are giving the new rules a bad reception.
Under the policy adopted by the California Energy Commission on Wednesday, all new 42-inch TV sets sold after January 1, 2011, must use less than 183 watts; by 2013, that drops to 116 watts. By comparison, according to the CEC, a 42-inch plasma TV sold in 2007 uses about 313 watts, while a 42-inch LDC set uses 232 watts.
Golden State officials hope their action is just the beginning. At a meeting Wednesday, CEC members said they hope the rest of the nation follows suit.
"It will save consumers money, it will help protect public health, and it will spark innovation," Commissioner Julia Levin said, noting that TV sets account for as much as 10% of an average household's electricity usage.
Not so fast, says Jason Oxman, a vice president with the Consumer Electronics Association. "Instead of allowing customers to choose the products they want, the commission has decided to impose arbitrary standards that will hamper innovation and limit consumer choice," he told the Associated Press. "It will result in higher prices for consumers, job losses for Californians, and lost tax revenue for the state."
The new standards will apply to new televisions up to 58 inches, the CEC said, explaining that sets bigger than that account for a tiny share of the overall TV market and are typically part of high-end home theater systems.
Writing to Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday, California Senator Dianne Feinstein noted that her state was a pioneer in enforcing minimum efficiency requirements for refrigerators and other products, in 1979, and she urged him to have the Department of Energy "take a serious look" at following suit with national TV standards. It may be significant that Chu is a fellow Californian and a self-described efficiency junkie.
So will other states -- or the federal government? -- consider similarly aggressive efficiency standards on TVs, or is that just a remote possibility? We will monitor ....
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