California Energy Commission Rule to Impact HDTV Industry

New regulation is in line with existing measures, but will hasten the shift to energy-efficient televisions. Here's why.

For the California Energy Commission, the voluntary guidelines of the Federal Energy Star program aren't enough to curb energy guzzling by HDTVs. In a unanimous vote, the CEC just introduced the nation's first state-mandated regulations for energy efficiency. The regulations will apply to televisions up to 58 inches in screen size.

The CEC regulations will affect all HDTVs sold at retail or over the Internet, according to Adam Gottlieb, a spokesman for the California Energy Commission, and will go into effect on January 1, 2011. The California rules were adopted despite some vehement industry opposition to them. Many in the industry--including the Consumer Electronics Association, the electronics company Panasonic, and the retail chain Best Buy--felt that the measures taken independently by the TV manufacturers, and by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy's Energy Star program, were sufficient to guide manufacturers on the path towards environmental awareness and compliance.

But the Energy Star guidelines alone weren't enough for California, notes Gottlieb. "Energy Star is a badge of honor for manufacturers. This is a mandatory standard."

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For the California Energy Commission, the voluntary guidelines of the Federal Energy Star program aren't enough to curb energy guzzling by HDTVs. In a unanimous vote, the CEC just introduced the nation's first state-mandated regulations for energy efficiency. The regulations will apply to televisions up to 58 inches in screen size.

The CEC regulations will affect all HDTVs sold at retail or over the Internet, according to Adam Gottlieb, a spokesman for the California Energy Commission, and will go into effect on January 1, 2011. The California rules were adopted despite some vehement industry opposition to them. Many in the industry--including the Consumer Electronics Association, the electronics company Panasonic, and the retail chain Best Buy--felt that the measures taken independently by the TV manufacturers, and by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy's Energy Star program, were sufficient to guide manufacturers on the path towards environmental awareness and compliance.

But the Energy Star guidelines alone weren't enough for California, notes Gottlieb. "Energy Star is a badge of honor for manufacturers. This is a mandatory standard."

In spite of all the fuss, it turns out that the CEC mandate is not especially stringent vis-à-vis what Energy Star has planned. In fact, by the time the first wave of CEC regulations enter into effect in 2011, Energy Star 4.0 will be in place. And since Energy Star 4.0 launches in May 2010, it's a safe bet that manufacturers will be introducing Energy Star 4.0 models into their lineups at the upcoming 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In an increasingly competitive and commoditized world of HDTVs, manufacturers are eager to distinguish themselves--and Energy Star is one such distinguishing factor, for now.

Many TVs Today Meet the CEC Standard

According to the CEC, nearly 1000 HDTV models on the market today already meet the Tier 1 standard for 2011, and some 300 meet the 2013 standard (Tier 2). Market research firm DisplaySearch echoes those results: According to its analysis, many popular HDTV models already meet the CEC's requirements for the year 2011, and some LED models--which have made a selling point of their energy efficiency--already meet the CEC's Tier 2 standard.

The only outliers in DisplaySearch's data for Tier 1 were 1080p plasma models--and plasma technology already had a reputation for being an energy hog; however, it's important to note that not all of the plasmas fell outside the Tier 1 range. Not surprisingly, Panasonic--the major manufacturer of plasma televisions--was recently touting how much more energy efficient its sets have become.

CEC vs. Energy Star

According to the CEC, the California regulations echo the EPA's Energy Star 4.0 standards for screen sizes up to 42 inches. Beyond that, "where Energy Star is a staggered step, this is a fixed formula based [on screen area] that is both technology neutral and performance based. The formula is based on Energy Star 3.0, but it goes beyond that," says Gottlieb.

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