Plasma Power Usage

[My_Two_Cents]

There have been more pasts than I care to remember from folks claiming the reason they didn't or won't consider a plasma is because it uses "so much more energy" than other display devices. In most of these claims, folks base their claims on the max wattage numbers cited in the various literature, which (I believe) represents power usage when one uses the display as an overhead light.

Anyway, Consumer Reports did a side-by-side comparrison of a 50" 1080p plasma versus a 52" 1080p LCD. I'll quote their test procedure:

"During testing, we measure each TV's power use when it's on and off (also known as standby mode). Then we calculate power consumption based on typical daily viewing - on for 8 hours and off for 16 hours. It's no big surprise that the bigger the screen, the more electricity a TV will use. But you might not know that plasma TVs typically use more energy than LCDs."

The total difference calculated over the course of one year? 1,159 kWh for plasma versus 667 kWh for LCD, or $53/year more to run a plasma. I don't believe it has ever been argued that plasmas don't use more energy than LCDs, but I would certainly hope that a minor $53/year is not enough to offset all of the other advantages of a plasma display.

I posted this to help educate, not to start another fanboy war. Let's hope we can keep the discussion civil and fact-based.