Home Electronics

Home electronics can account for more than 15% of household electricity use. Some of the most popular electronic products, like flat-screen TVs, are growing more energy-intensive each year. In this section, you'll find information about the energy impact of particular products and facts about whether or not you can reduce that impact.

This section of our website is growing, so if you don't see a home-electronics product covered here, check back or visit www.energystar.gov.

Televisions
Digital-to-Analog TV Conversion Equipment
DVDs, VCRs & Digital Recording
Game Consoles
Audio Equipment
Computers
Rechargeable Portable Devices
Disposing of old electronics

Money-saving tip:

When your electronics are off, they may still use power. And you pay for it. An Advanced Power Strip (APS) shuts off the power for you. When you turn off your TV, the APS shuts down anything else you want, like game consoles, DVD
players, VCRs and home theater equipment.

Look for the ENERGY STAR label:

ENERGY STAR ® labeled products reduce your energy use. They meet or exceed federal standards for energy savings.
ENERGY STAR ® labeled products reduce air pollution from power plants by lowering the need for new electricity.
If every U.S. home's electronics were ENERGY STAR ® labeled, the nation would save over 25 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Visit www.energystar.gov for more information

TELEVISIONS
ENERGY STAR labeled TVs use about 30% less energy than standard units. You can find the ENERGY STAR label on everything from standard TVs to the largest flat-screen models. Find specific models here.

Standard Sets
Non-flat-screen CRTs (cathode-ray TVs) use significantly less energy than flat-screen TVs of the same size or bigger.

Flat-Screen TVs
Flat-screen plasma and LCD (liquid-crystal display) TVs use significantly more energy than standard sets. The bigger the flat screen, the higher your energy costs. The features of individual sets can have an impact on energy use, so comparison shop to determine the specific energy demands of particular models.

DVDs, VCRs & DIGITAL RECORDING
DVD Players
Americans spend more money to power standard DVD players when turned off than when in use. When ENERGY STAR labeled DVDs are off, they use as little as one quarter of the energy used by standard models. Find specific models here.

VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders)
ENERGY STAR labeled VCRs use about 30% less total energy than standard units.

TVs with built-in DVDs or VCRs
ENERGY STAR labeled combination units use about 35% less energy than standard combination units. Find specific models here.

Digital Recording Units
A digital recording unit for TV, such as TiVo, typically consumes between 20-30 watts whether you're recording or not. At a rate of 13.3 cents per kilowatt hour, you'll pay about $29 per year or about $2.40 per month for this device. The newest high-definition units use more.

GAME CONSOLES
A Sony PlayStation ® 3 demands about 200 watts when in use and nearly that much when idle. A Microsoft Xbox ® 360 draws about 175 watts when in use and about 140 watts when idle. This constant energy drain can be stopped by plugging devices into a power strip that can be switched off when game consoles aren't in use.

HOME AUDIO EQUIPMENT
ENERGY STAR qualified home-audio products use about 6% less energy than standard models. You can find ENERGY STAR qualified models of compact disc (CD) players, micro/mini/midi players, speakers, receivers, amplifiers, radios/tuners. Find specific models here.

COMPUTERS
If all computers sold in the United States met ENERGY STAR requirements, Americans would save a combined $2 billion in energy costs each year. Here's why:

ENERGY STAR qualified computers save energy while in active use and while in standby mode.
ENERGY STAR qualified monitors consume two watts or less in sleep mode and a maximum of one watt when off.
Computers earning the ENERGY STAR label have more efficient internal power supplies than standard computers and they automatically go into low-power sleep modes after a designated period of inactivity. Low-power modes reduce the spinning of the hard disk, which decreases power consumption.

You can find ENERGY STAR qualified desktop and notebook (laptop) computers, game consoles, integrated computer systems, desktop-derived servers and workstations.
Find specific models of computers here.
Find models of monitors here.

RECHARGEABLE PORTABLE DEVICES
Cell phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, power tools, hand-held vacuums, etc.
You may not think of battery-powered portables as electricity users, but they're a growing contributor to U.S. household electricity costs. That's because we plug them in to recharge them. As long as a recharger cord is plugged into the wall, it's drawing electricity that you pay for. You can eliminate this expense by unplugging the cord from the wall after recharging is complete. To make that simpler, create a recharging station by putting a multi-socket power strip/surge protector in easy reach and plugging-in only rechargers that are in active use.

DISPOSING OF OLD ELECTRONICS
More than 3.2 million tons of electronic waste is added to landfills each year. By donating your functioning, unwanted electronics, you'll help a local person or organization to give your devices a second life. Or you can keep your unusable items out of landfills by recycling them. To find a location near you to donate or recycle your computers and other electronics, enter your zip code at www.mygreenelectronics.org.