How much does it cost to run a television?
Television electricity use depends heavily on screen technology and brightness settings rather than the hours you watch. Modern LED and OLED models consume dramatically less energy than older plasma screens, making screen choice one of the largest factors in your running costs.
Television running cost calculator
- Per day
- $0.09
- Per month
- $2.59
- Per year
- $31.03
- CO₂ / year
- 73 kg
Based on 182.5 kWh per year. Adjust the price per kWh to match your latest electricity bill for an exact figure.
At 100 watts used 5 hours a day, a television costs about $0.09 per day, $2.59 per month and $31.03 per year on an average rate of 17¢ per kWh — roughly 182.5 kWh and 73 kg of CO₂ over a year. Enter your own electricity rate and usage in the calculator above for a figure matched to your bill.
The shift from plasma to LED to OLED technology represents one of the biggest energy efficiency gains in consumer electronics over the past fifteen years. Plasma TVs, which dominated the market in the 2000s, required substantial power just to maintain the ionized gas inside their screens, running inefficiently even at moderate brightness levels. LED-backlit LCD screens reduced consumption significantly by using more efficient light sources, while modern OLED sets take a different approach entirely—each pixel emits its own light and can be switched off independently. This means an OLED TV uses very little power during dark scenes or when displaying mostly black content, whereas an LED TV backlights the entire panel regardless of what's on screen.
Your actual cost to run a television is far more variable than the spec sheet suggests. The rated power consumption assumes a specific brightness setting, usually 50 percent, but most households run their TVs much brighter or dimmer depending on room lighting and personal preference. Watching in a bright living room during the day will push your set toward its maximum draw, while evening viewing with reduced brightness uses considerably less. Size matters too: a 43-inch LED TV and a 75-inch LED TV within the same product line may have similar efficiency ratings per unit area, but the larger set requires more backlighting power overall. If you spend five hours daily watching at moderate brightness, you're looking at different consumption than someone who watches the same duration but always at maximum brightness.
When evaluating television efficiency, look past the total wattage and instead check for energy certification labels like Energy Star, which identifies sets that perform well relative to their size and technology. Compare the annual estimated power consumption if it's available on the product spec—this gives you a real-world-ish baseline. LED sets with local dimming zones perform better than edge-lit designs because the backlight can adjust brightness in different parts of the screen rather than across the entire panel at once. OLED TVs excel at playing movies or streaming content with dark scenes, but check real-world power draw if your viewing diet is mostly bright game shows or daytime sports, since their advantage diminishes when pixels are rarely fully off.
Common mistakes include ignoring standby power draw, which can accumulate over months of the TV sitting powered but not actively watched. Modern TVs have improved dramatically in this area, but sets over five or six years old often draw 5-10 watts while off, which adds up. Keeping your TV in a room where you can control ambient light gives you the option to watch at lower brightness settings and lets the set's contrast and colors shine without needing to crank brightness to compete with sunlight. If you're buying a new television specifically to reduce running costs, prioritize screen technology and size over the brand name—an efficient LED from a value manufacturer will always beat a premium plasma set from ten years ago.
Frequently asked questions
- Do LED TVs really use less power than old plasma screens?
- Yes, substantially. Plasma TVs from the mid-2000s typically drew 300-500 watts during normal viewing, while a modern 55-inch LED set draws around 80-120 watts at moderate brightness. OLED TVs are even more variable depending on content, using minimal power for dark scenes but drawing more during bright content. If you replace an old plasma set, you'll see a noticeable reduction in costs even if you watch the same amount.
- Does screen size directly determine how much electricity a TV uses?
- Not perfectly. A 65-inch and a 55-inch LED set with the same technology from the same manufacturer might have similar power ratings because efficiency per square inch is comparable, but a 75-inch set will typically use more total power than both. Bigger screens require more backlighting energy, though the relationship isn't perfectly linear. Always check the actual power specification rather than assuming size alone.
- What's the difference between edge-lit and full-array LED backlighting?
- Edge-lit TVs place LED lights along the borders of the screen and use a light guide to distribute illumination across the entire panel. Full-array (or local dimming) sets place LEDs across the full back surface in zones, allowing independent brightness control in different areas. Full-array designs are more efficient because they can dim zones showing dark content while keeping bright zones fully lit, rather than compromising across the whole screen.
- How much does brightness setting affect running costs?
- Significantly. Most power ratings assume a 50 percent brightness setting, but if you typically watch at 100 percent brightness, you could use 30-50 percent more electricity. Conversely, watching at 30 percent brightness in a darker room uses noticeably less. This is one of the few daily habits you can adjust to directly reduce consumption without buying new equipment.
- Should I worry about a TV's standby power draw?
- Less than you used to. Modern TVs draw only 0.5-2 watts on standby, which is minimal. If your TV is older than five or six years, it might draw 5-10 watts while off, so upgrading could help. However, standby is never as significant as active viewing power use, so don't let it be the main factor in a purchasing decision.
- Are OLED TVs actually cheaper to run than LED TVs?
- It depends on what you watch. OLED excels with movies, streaming shows with dark scenes, and content that doesn't fill the entire screen with brightness—their ability to turn off individual pixels saves substantial power. If you mostly watch bright daytime sports, game shows, or always stream with high brightness, an OLED might not save much compared to an efficient full-array LED set. Look at real-world power specs for the specific models you're comparing.