LED

This week, the California Energy Commission will consider new regulations that would require televisions sold in the state to be 33 percent more energy efficient by 2011 and 49 percent more efficient by 2013.

The move is in response to the proliferation of ever larger and cheaper flat-screen TVs, thanks both to the national switch from analog to digital cable and to the increasing availability of larger, cheaper flat screens that suck huge amounts of energy.

The commission, which will be deciding on the regulations at a Nov. 18 meeting, calculates that televisions and their accessories (DVRs, DVD players, cable boxes) account for about 15 percent of home energy use.

Some manufacturers have backed the proposed rules, but the trade group Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), of which the majority of manufacturers are members, is predictably opposed. The CEA claims the energy efficiency regulations would send TV sales plummeting, costing California $50 million in lost tax revenues and 4,600 lost jobs.

“Consumer electronics manufacturers have already dramatically reduced the amount of energy used by digital televisions — without regulation,” said Gary Shapiro, CEA’s president and CEO. “In less than two years, the energy efficiency of Energy Star TVs has improved by 41 percent. These successful efforts resulted from competition among manufacturers to reduce costs to consumers in the global marketplace — not government mandates.”

Manufacturers of sets built around more efficient displays, however, are likely to see a sales boom.