The California Energy Commission on Wednesday approved the nation’s first mandatory energy-efficiency standards for televisions.
The rules phase in starting in 2011 and set a cap on the power a TV can draw. Large sets can draw more power than small ones. All models larger than 58 inches are exempt from the regulations, though they may be covered in the future.
The rules, approved by a 5-0 vote at a commission meeting in Sacramento, have no impact on televisions already in homes.
Industry groups have argued that the regulations are unnecessary because televisions have been getting more efficient anyway. They say market forces and voluntary federal efficiency programs will be enough to continue that trend.
In a conference call with reporters after the Energy Commission’s decision, leaders of the Consumer Electronics Association said they have not ruled out a legal challenge to the regulations.
Industry groups also have been trying to build support in the Legislature to overturn the regulations, but their chances of succeeding seem slim. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has consistently backed the efficiency rules and applauded them in a statement Wednesday.
With the introduction of plasma and LCD flat-panel sets, the amount of energy used by televisions has jumped in the last decade. Screen sizes have increased and the number of televisions per home has grown. Televisions and related devices like DVD players and cable boxes now account for about 10 percent of household energy use, according to the Energy Commission.
The regulations adopted Wednesday appear unlikely to significantly impact the mainstream television market in the next few years. More than 1,000 televisions – about three-quarters of the U.S. market – already comply with the Energy Commission’s 2011 standards.
Manufacturers are more concerned about the tighter rules that take effect in 2013. Only about 300 of today’s models meet those standards.
Energy Commission staff members characterize the models not yet in compliance with the 2011 rules as laggards that haven’t incorporated up-to-date technologies, such as more-efficient backlights or power supplies.
Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the state regulations are needed to ensure that the industry stays on its efficiency-improvement trajectory. He credits the recent improvements in part to manufacturers’ long-standing expectation that the Energy Commission would regulate efficiency.
“I think a lot of these advancements are happening because they saw the writing on the wall,” Horowitz said after Wednesday’s hearing.
Industry groups say that some new full-featured television models have heavy power demands and that the regulations could constrict innovation, particularly at the high end of the market.
David Kline, general manager for strategic product planning at electronics-maker JVC, pointed to one of his company’s models that last year met the Energy Commission’s 2013 power standards. A newer version released this year is out of compliance with the regulations because it has an improved iPod interface that increased the base load of the set by 16 watts. Kline said that even with three years’ lead time, finding new efficiencies to get back down to the 2013 level will be difficult.
“It’s all wrung out,” he said.
The Energy Commission estimates the efficiency rules will save consumers $8.1 billion on energy bills over the first 10 years of the regulation. That figure is likely an overstatement, since it assumes that if the regulations had not been adopted, three-quarters of the televisions purchased in the next decade would not comply with the 2011 standards. Both sides in the debate agree that most sets already exceed those standards.
Under the Energy Commission regulations, new televisions would be tagged with labels giving details on energy demands, as refrigerators and other appliances are.
The rules will apply to televisions sold in California retail stores and may cover some online sales to California addresses, according to Energy Commission spokesman Adam Gottlieb.