When it comes to entertainment in the home, most people care about screen size, color accuracy, image quality, and how many bells and whistles a TV comes with. Rarely do we consider energy consumption when buying a new HDTV.
In what could set worldwide precedent, the European Union is looking to ban sales of new plasma television sets in all member nations (meaning most of Europe). While plasma televisions are top notch when it comes to color accuracy and contrast ratio, they can also be the most energy-hungry appliance found in homes today. According to Dailymail, Plasmas typically use up to four times as much energy as a CRT television while also emitting much more carbon dioxide into the air.
Along with phasing out the 100W light bulb, the EU plans on phasing out the most demanding of plasma sets this spring. While plasma televisions may be going the way of the dodo in Europe, LCD TV's are safe. A 42" LCD typically uses the same amount of energy as a smaller traditional CRT TV.
A spokesperson for the EU's Department-for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said certain "eco-friendly" plasma sets will remain on the market. While many consider America to be the king when it comes to television sales, Britain alone has approximately 60 million TV's, one for every person in the country.
While the bulk of plasma sets may be taken off the market in Europe, LCD's are outselling plasma sets by a wide margin, usually 2-to-1. LCD TV's are traditionally less expensive, and also come in a much wider array of sizes. When was the last time you saw a plasma TV smaller than 42 inches? While image aficionados still love plasmas for their black levels, the average joe is going to save a few hundred dollars (sometimes more), and go LCD.
