How Many Watts Does a TV Use? Here’s All You Need to Know

When it comes to the electricity bill, we always look to save up as much as possible with our appliances at home. As for the TV, it’s mostly open 24/7, and you can bet it’s the main source of electricity consumption.

If you’re worried about the TV being the culprit of your electric bill, then don’t worry. Our experts will give you a guide on how much electricity and energy your TV uses so you know how much money you will be able to save each month.

How Many Watts Does a TV Use?

Surprisingly, TVs nowadays don’t use that much energy when plugged in. They are built to be efficient while still maintaining performance for you and your family.

Today, high-efficient and powered televisions can range from 20 watts for the smaller sets to 400 watts for the bigger and better sets. Here is a quick guide to knowing how much electricity your TV uses:

lg tv miniled 4k

Your TV may be of a different brand, so it might have a different range when it comes to power consumption. But this knowing this information won’t be for naught. This estimation gives you a general idea of how much power your TV is consuming.

Some brands have higher consumptions than others, considering that each model has its own screen type and resolution. One TV’s energy consumption could be much higher than another, but an average LED TV has less than 100 watts of power consumption.

On the brighter side, 100 watts isn’t that consuming in terms of electricity. If we compare it to older light bulbs that used more than 100 watts back in the day, old CRT TV-LED TVs and other TV types are much more efficient when consuming electricity.

How to Find Out Your TV’s Wattage Power?

If you really care about saving up and having energy efficiency, you would want to find out how much energy your TV has. It’s simple; all you have to do is go to the label at the back of your TV, and you’ll be able to identify it.

What if there’s no wattage label at the back? There’s a solution to this: You can buy a cheap electrical usage monitor to know how much power your TV uses.

Go for an electrical usage monitor that’s a low-cost option but will accurately depict your electric consumption by day, week, or year.

Does Knowing How Many Watts My TV Produces Important?

We already know that your TV’s electricity usage doesn’t contribute much to your bill. Your air conditioner consumes more energy, which spikes the prices up on your bill.

lg oled

If you want to maximize reducing your electric bill, start adding insulation to ceilings and add weatherstripping around doors and windows to prevent significant losses on your wallet.

You may think this is not a worthy investment, but it is! Heating and cooling [1] account for 48% of the average US energy bill.

This is why focusing on insulation, weatherstripping, and other measures that keep cold air within your home is so important. Doing these will save you a ton of money on your bills.

Factors Affecting TV Watt Usage

Let’s address the question, “how many watts does a TV use?” It can be pretty tricky as there are a lot of variables that come into play in determining how many watts your TV uses. 

Here are some of them when you’re going to buy a new TV:

Screen Size and Resolution

A medium-sized TV nowadays has a screen resolution ranging from 24″ to 32″. This usually is a LED TV manufactured to have a higher energy efficiency than older CRT TVs or an LCD TV.

If you’re looking to amp up your TV set, newer models that are about 40″ to 85″ TVs or more can give you that authentic experience you’ve always wanted. They are perfect for your bedroom when it comes to lying down after a long and tiring day at work.

Each upgrade in size and quality will also increase the wattage your TV uses.

Display Technology

Display Technology refers to the type of display the TV has. The most popular ones are:

lg nano cell

Let’s sum up the energy consumptions of the different types of TVs:

  1. LED, LCD, and OLED TVs are more efficient in energy.

However, OLED TVs are better in terms of quality and illumination as they use individual pixels instead of backlighting to show pictures and videos on the TV.

     2. QLED is the more energy use type within the group. Its selling point is that it produces a higher quality of picture and imagery than the OLED TV type.

In summary, QLED is the type of TV that will make a difference in your electrical bill at the end of the month compared to the first three types.

How Can I Decrease My Watt Usage?

If you’re an energy-efficient enthusiast, you are always going to look to save energy for a decreased kilowatt-hour on your energy bill. You’re in luck because we’ve listed tips on how you can limit your electricity usage:

Tip #1: Don't Watch TV All Day

This is pretty obvious as prolonged usage of a LED TV will clearly yield more electricity and more power usage that will reflect on your bill the next month.

You may be looking forward to a whole day’s worth of TV viewing after a long day at work, but try to reduce your TV use for even a few hours to avoid hefty payments.

Tip #2: Keep an Eye on the Power

You may not notice, but a lot of electronics still use power even when on standby mode. This is called standby power, where it uses minimal electricity to keep it running.

Your entertainment setup, consisting of your smart TV, sound system, DVD player, etc., could be draining power and your wallet, at the same time, right under your nose. Better yet, be sure to unplug any device when not in use.

Tip #3: Look for TV Models that are Power-Efficient

Always look to buy a well-balanced TV with excellent picture quality, widescreen size, and efficient energy use capabilities. There are a number of TV units nowadays that focus on power efficiency.

Tip #4: Manage the Cold Air Properly

Air conditioners are the energy hogs of your home, so you should keep your doors closed as much as possible to avoid cold air from escaping the room.

Install insulators and weatherstrippings around your house to prevent cold air from ever escaping. Keep your air-con usage to a minimum to also minimize the bill after each month.

Conclusion

TVs don’t consume a lot of electricity compared to other electronics.

The goal of technology advancement in electronics and gadgets is to always look to balance the product’s price, quality, and energy usage. This is most important for rechargeable devices such as consoles, smartphones, tablets, and even Bluetooth devices.

Unless you have a high-end TV, multiple air conditioners scattered in your home, unplugged devices, and other devices that draw more power, your bill will be safe from electrical price hikes.

For other related pages, we also listed the following topics below: 

Writer

Willie Greer
Willie Greer
Willie Greer is the founder of The Product Analyst. A cinephile, he has made it a personal quest to achieve the awesomest home theater possible. He now shares what he has learned through the years on the site, and has enlisted the help of tech-savvy colleagues in providing more insight about today’s most sought-after gadgets.