California Close to Banning Energy Inefficient Big Screen TVs
California is poised to become the first state to ban plasma and LCD TVs that use too much energy. The Consumer Electronics Association is doing everything it can to stop the legislation, but the regulators are not listening.
On Tuesday, executives and consultants for the Arlington, Va., trade group asked members of the California Energy Commission to instead let consumers use their wallets to decide whether they want to buy the most energy-saving new models of liquid-crystal display and plasma high-definition TVs.
"Voluntary efforts are succeeding without regulations," said Doug Johnson, the association's senior director for technology policy. Too much government interference could hamstring industry innovation and prove expensive to manufacturers and consumers, he warned.
But those pleas didn't appear to elicit much support from commissioners at a public hearing on the proposed rules that would set maximum energy-consumption standards for televisions to be phased in over two years beginning in January 2011. A vote could come as early as Nov. 4.
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California's estimated 35 million TVs and related electronic devices account for about 10% of all household electricity consumption, the Energy Commission staff reported. But manufacturers quickly are coming up with new technologies that are making even 50-inch-screen models much more economical to operate.
New features, such as light-emitting diodes that consume tiny amounts of power, special reflective films and sensors that automatically adjust TV brightness to a room's viewing conditions, are driving down electricity consumption, experts said.
Many consumers buy big screen TVs, not realizing how much power they use. The new regulations would increase prices on TVs, according to some consumer groups. The commission disputes this.
The problem here is that energy efficiency needs to be regulated on federal, national basis, not on a state by state basis. That could set the stage for every state to have different rules for consumer products, which will definitely lead to higher prices for consumers.
