European Union and California wants to ban plasma screen televisions plasma screen televisions as they “guzzle” too much power and adds to the global warming issue. Press Coverage on Ban: According to the Daily Express, “A 42in plasma television uses over twice as much power as a traditional television set. Some of the larger models can take as much as electricity to run a fridge freezer”.

1. Power Hungry Plasma Displays to be Banned in Europe and California
(USA)
European Union and California wants to ban plasma screen televisions plasma
screen televisions as they “guzzle” too much power and adds to the global
warming issue. (See articles in Daily Express: www.express.co.uk and LA Times:
www.latimes.com)
Press Coverage on Ban: According to the Daily Express, “A 42in plasma
television uses over twice as much power as a traditional television set. Some of
the larger models can take as much as electricity to run a fridge freezer”.
LA Times reports that “(California) State regulators are getting ready to curb the
growing power gluttony of TV sets by drafting the nation’s first rules requiring
retailers to sell only the most energy-efficient models…”. The regulation is
expected to pass in mid-2009. According to LA Times, “During a peak viewing
time when most sets are on, such as the Super Bowl, TVs in the (California) state
collectively suck up the equivalent of 40% of the power generated by the San
Onofre nuclear power station running at full capacity. Televisions account for
about 10% of the average Californian’s monthly household electricity bill”. Further
the article goes to describe how Plasma screens are more power hungry than
LCD screens.
Power Usage Comparison of Plasma vs LCD: We looked at various professional
large screen displays that businesses would buy, to see if what is being reported
is correct. Below we analyze some of the Plasma professional display brands
against the Sharp LCD screens to understand how plasma screens compares
with LCD screens. Our finding was that Plasma displays consumed almost twice
as much power per display than LCD display of similar size.
Comparing Panasonic Plasma Display vs. Sharp LCD Display
• 65” Panasonic Plasma Display: A 65inch professional plasma display by
Panasonic (TH-65PF11), which is high definition display, consumes 755W
of power, according to the company display brochure. (see:
www.panasonic.co.in)
• 65” Sharp LCD Display: A 65inch profession LCD display by Sharp (PN-
S655), which is also a high definition display but using LCD technology,
consumes 480W of power, according to the company display brochure.
(see: www.sbsil.com)
We looked at other professional display brands to see their power consumptions.

2. • 60” LG Plasma Display: LG does not offer a 65inch professional plasma
display for business use. The 60inch plasma display LG plasma display
(60PG70FR) uses (690W-760W) of power. (see: www.in.lge.com)
• 50” Sony Plasma Display: The largest professional plasma display offered
by Sony is 50inches (FWD-50PX3/S). The 50inch plasma display uses
440W of power compared to Sharp 46 inch LCD display using 312W of
power.
Do your own analysis but it does seem that Plasma displays consume more
power than LCD displays. By placing restrictions on display companies EU and
California governments hope to encourage display companies to produce more
efficient displays and TV screens. With the growth of flat-screen TVs, this is
bound to make a difference. As consumers and the world gets more “green”
conscious, it makes sense for business to be aware about recent trends as this
will save them more money in the long run
For more information about LCD TV visit http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com