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TV Manufacturers Accused of Gaming Energy Usage Tests (cbslocal.com)
The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued a new report accusing Samsung, LG and Vizio of "misleading consumers and regulators about how much energy high-definition screens devour, alleging that the televisions were designed to perform more efficiently during government testing than in ordinary use." The report "estimates that the collective electricity bills during a decade of watching the high-definition TVs will be $1.2 billion higher than the energy ratings imply," and that "the higher energy usage generates an additional 5 million metric tons of carbon pollution." CBS Local reports: The findings are based on an analysis of high-definition TVs with screens spanning at least 55 inches made in 2015 and 2016. The estimates on electricity costs are based on high definition TVs with screens 32 inches and larger. The study concluded that Samsung and LG have gamed the system during government testing in an effort to get better scores on the "Energy Star" yellow labels that appear on the sets in stores. Those scores often influence the buying decisions of consumers looking to save money on their utility bills. The report said Samsung and LG did not break any laws in their manipulation of the tests, but rather exploited weaknesses in the Department of Energy's system to measure electricity usage. The Samsung and LG sets have a dimming feature that turns off the screens' backlight during part of the 10-minute video clip used in government tests. But that does not typically happen when the sets are being used in homes to watch sports, comedies, dramas and news programming. The analysis also found that Samsung, LG and Vizio disable energy-saving features in their TVs when consumers change the factory setting on the picture, a common practice. The energy-saving feature is turned off, with little or no warning on the screen, sometimes doubling the amount of electricity consumed, according to the NRDC report.
I'm sure a horde of lawyers would love to charge $50 for each $0.75 refund check cut in their class action.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Diesel, energy usage... this really has no end, right?
You start wondering if your home appliances, electronics and whatnot are really all that efficient, or if in fact it's just all the testing procedures that are rigged instead.
Yes, let's send the message to large corporations that fraud is a-ok and we aren't even going to bother pretending to punish them any more. There's no way that could possibly lead to further problems down the road.!
Compared to the plasmas, rear projection screens, and even good old fasioned CRTs over the last dozen years the new LED units are positively energy sippers.
Even so, update the tests and fix the stickers; consumers should know what they are buying.
Although I do take exception to the idea that the auto dimming during the test is 'unrealistic' -- yeah its true there isn't a minute of blackness during the average superbowl. But I can't tell you how often a movie has ended, or someone walked away from the HTPC, or something and its gone to sleep. Some of the devices go idle/sleep/off the TV basically shuts the screen off. Others it goes to this blue no-signal screen which it doesn't seem to detect as idle, and will sit there glowing blue nothing for hours... so yeah... testing what the screen does when its not being used SHOULD be part of the testing.