A customer looks at a display of flat screened television at a Best Buy store in San Francisco, California. California state regulators are looking to reduce the electrical draw from TVs and impose the nation's first energy limits for televisions. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

They're quite a drain. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Mark Memmott

The Golden State is often where efforts like this get started and then go nationwide, so it's worth noting this story in the Los Angeles Times:

Concerned that the growing popularity of big-screen televisions could make it harder for California to keep pace with electricity demand, state energy regulators are poised to crack down on energy-guzzling sets despite opposition from a powerful electronics trade group.
The first-in-the-nation TV efficiency standards would require electronics retailers to sell only energy-sipping models starting in 2011. Even tougher efficiency criteria would follow in 2013.

According to the Times: "Research shows that television viewing now accounts for about 2% of statewide electricity consumption, a percentage that is expected to steadily increase." Many manufacturers, the newspaper adds, say they already meet the stricter standards and that prices shouldn't have to go up.

categories: Technology

8:35 - September 18, 2009

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