Audio Video News

Already a leader in fuel efficiency standards for cars, California may become the first state to impose energy efficiency requirements on television sets as well.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the California Energy Commission is drawing up rules requiring retailers to sell energy-saving models and shun power hogs. They are likely to pass the state legislature in the middle of this year and take effect in 2011.

TVs are responsible for about 10 percent of an average household's power usage, and during a big event such the Super Bowl, they can consume up to 40 percent of a local power plant's output. State officials say regulating TVs could save enough power every year to provide all the power needs of 86,400 homes.

The regulations would phase in over two years, starting in January 2011 and accelerating to a stricter level in January 2013. An average TV owner would save $18.48 annually in the first tier, and another $11.76 in the second tier. In addition to saving money, the new rules would also reduce the state's greenhouse emissions by 15 percent a decade after they take effect.

Some retailers are critical. "It would kill dealerships because people would buy on Amazon and have them shipped in and maybe not pay sales tax," the president of Wilshire Entertainment told the LA Times. "If a customer wants a 12-cylinder car or a 60-inch plasma that uses this much energy, they're going to get it."

The Consumer Electronics Association, despite its support for green initiatives in general, also expressed skepticism, urging voluntary guidelines instead. Such guidelines exist--and have even recently been tightened--via the federal government's Energy Star program.