Energy efficient home guide

02.Home entertainment

If you're in the market for a new home entertainment product, consider some of our best green buys. Chances are you'll have your new television or recording device for many years, so the extra costs of an energy-gobbler will add up over time. Our feature on standby energy shows how much you waste by leaving your devices on standby rather than switching them off at the power point.

All energy consumption is based on annual usage amounts unless otherwise stated.

Televisions

According to our TV tester Scott O'Keefe, CHOICE has tested some televisions with as many as 7 stars on the energy label - and the label can be trusted. Low standby energy consumption is legislated. As a rule of thumb, the larger the TV, the more energy it consumes, so consider a smaller 6 star TV rather than the large 7 star one you might have your eye on. Even though the star rating may be higher on some larger TVs, you still need to think about the overall annual energy consumption.

81cm televisions

To find out more about this model and others, see our review of 81cm TVs.

Our 81cm green buy (rating based on energy consumption when in use):

Sony KDL32EX710

Start rating: 6

Energy consumption: 195W

94cm televisions

If you're after a slightly bigger TV, 94cm TVs use less energy to run than their larger counterparts. 94cm green buy (rating based on energy consumption when in use):

Samsung UA37C5000QFXXY

Star rating: 6

Energy consumption: 261W

106cm televisions

To find out more about this model and others, see our review of 106cm TVs.

LG 42LG70YD

Star rating: NA

Energy consumption: 155.75W

117cm televisions

The 117cm TVs provide a great mid-size option. Considering some other same-sized units can use as much as 767 W, this unit was a clear green winner:

Sharp LC46LE820X

Star rating: 6

Energy consumption: 137W

127 - 132cm televisions

Once you get up to the larger end of the size spectrum, 127 - 132cm TVs, your energy use increases dramatically. It's worth noting that the consumer of the highest amount of energy here, Samsung PS50C7000YF, uses 859W. We awarded our best green buy to:

Sony KDL55EX710

Star rating: 7

Energy consumption: 367W

 

High definition (HD) set top boxes

Standby performance is also legislated in set top boxes. All recently tested high definition set top boxes scored 100% for standby energy performance. The differences in consumption when they're on aren't that significant, as none are particularly energy hungry.

Olin HVBTR-1200

Standby energy consumption: 0.37W

Annual energy cost ($): 2.9

Digital video recorders (DVRs)

Eight of the 11 DVRs tested scored 100% for standby performance.

Strong SRT 5492

Standby (W/hour): 0.7

In use (W/hour): 18.9

 

DVD and Blu-ray recorders

Blu-ray

To find out more about these models and others, see our review of DVD and blu-ray players.

Samsung BD-C550

Power consumption score (%): 91

 

It's as simple as switching off

To save on standby energy, especially if you have a lot of electronic goods that are not particularly efficient, consider using a product like the Ecoswitch, which allows you easy access to the primary wall outlet so you can turn off a number of devices at once.