Televisions and Computers: Smart Media and Efficient Tech

Televisions

It is common for modern households to have multiple televisions. Although LED and OLED technologies have significantly improved energy efficiency per inch, larger screen sizes, higher resolutions (4K and 8K), and Smart TV features mean televisions still account for a substantial portion of daily household energy use.

Even though European regulations mandate that modern TVs draw less than 0.5 W in standby mode, connected peripheral devices—such as set-top boxes, soundbars, and gaming consoles—continue to draw phantom power. Completely powering off or disconnecting entertainment centers when not in use prevents cumulative energy waste throughout the year.

Computers and Peripherals

Computers are now essential tools for both remote work and home entertainment. Among workstation components, the display monitor is one of the primary power consumers, alongside high-performance graphics cards in desktop systems.

Modern operating systems feature built-in power management tools. Setting the display to enter sleep mode automatically after a few minutes of inactivity drops power draw to negligible levels without requiring a full system shutdown.

Practical Tips to Save Energy on TVs and Computers

• Use power strips with switches or smart plugs: Pluggable power strips allow you to turn off TVs, consoles, and computer setups simultaneously, completely eliminating standby power drain.
• Enable automatic display sleep: Set your computer to turn off the monitor after 5 to 10 minutes of idle time instead of using animated screensavers, which keep the hardware active.
• Enable dark mode on OLED screens: On OLED displays, black pixels are completely turned off, yielding genuine power savings when using dark themes.
• Optimize screen brightness: Adjusting display brightness to match room lighting reduces energy consumption and minimizes eyestrain.
• Print double-sided and only when necessary: Default to digital documents, and when printing is unavoidable, use double-sided printing to conserve paper and resources.