This is a common question that many people have about their televisions. In short, yes – TVs do still use some power when turned off or in standby mode. However, the amount of power consumed varies significantly depending on the type of TV and its settings.
Quick Answer
Modern TVs with advanced power saving features can use as little as 0.5 watts in standby. Older, less efficient TVs may use 10 watts or more when switched off. The main factors that affect standby power use are:
- TV age and technology
- Screen size
- Enabled features like quick start and running apps
Even when off, many smart TVs keep network connections active for updates and maintenance. Newer TV models allow you to disable these always-on features to minimize power draw.
How Much Power Does a TV Use When Turned Off?
When powered off with the remote control or button, most televisions enter a standby mode rather than switching completely off. This allows features like turning on with remote control, waking with Cast commands, and background downloads.
Standby power draw varies greatly depending on the television’s age, size, and feature set:
- Old CRT TVs use 3-10 watts or more in standby.
- Early flatscreens (pre-2010) use 10-20 watts standby power.
- Modern LED & LCD TVs (post-2010) use 0.5-2 watts in standby.
- Some new OLED TVs (2018 onwards) can use as little as 0.3 watts.
For comparison, most TVs use between 50 and 400 watts while switched on and playing content. So the standby power is just 1-20% of the maximum usage.
Factors That Increase Standby Power Use
While the efficiency varies widely, what determines how much power a TV draws when switched off? There are three main factors:
- TV Age – Older TVs have much less efficient components and power management. Modern TVs utilize System-on-Chip (SoC) processors and low power states to minimize energy waste.
- Screen Size – Larger TVs require more power to maintain key circuits active in standby for remote commands. More advanced models counteract this somewhat through efficient design.
- Enabled Features – Modern smart TV include many options that allow the TV to keep running in the background. For example, quick start, network standby and background apps. These can increase standby use but allow convenient smart features.
With some televisions, you can actually disable select features that impact standby power. For example, turning off Quick Start and Smart Standby on Samsung TVs helps reduce power use when switched off.
How Much Does a TV Cost to Run?
To estimate the cost of running a TV, you need to know three things:
- Power consumption in watts while in use and on standby
- Number of hours used per day
- Electricity price per kilowatt hour (kWh)
As an example, a typical 32 inch LED HD TV uses around 70 watts while playing content, but just 2 watts on standby. If used 5 hours per day, with 19 hours on standby, it would use:
- 70 watts x 5 hours = 350 watt hours (0.35 kWh) watching
- 2 watts x 19 hours = 38 watt hours (0.038 kWh) standby
- Total kWh per day = 0.388
At an electricity price of $0.15 per kWh, the daily cost to run this TV would be:
0.388 kWh x $0.15 = $0.06 per day
Over a full year, that equates to approximately $22 in electricity costs for this size TV used 5 hrs per day. Of course, costs can be lower with efficient modern TV models or higher if used more hours per day.
How to Reduce Standby Power Consumption
For most modern TVs, the standby power draw is relatively small. But you can further minimize power use when not watching TV with these tips:
- Disable Quick Startup/Fast Boot if your TV has this option. This allows the TV to completely power down.
- Turn off Networked Standby Mode or Smart Standby features to shut off background network connections.
- Adjust auto power-off settings to a shorter delay, such as 15 minutes.
- Unplug the TV if you won’t use it for an extended period.
Some additional options to reduce power consumption include:
- Lower brightness setting for less power draw during use.
- Enable energy saving or eco modes which dim screen and limit processing.
- Activate sleep timer to automatically turn off the TV after a set time period.
Also consider utilizing a smart power strip to completely cut off standby power draw when the TV is not in use. Just make sure to leave on the TV standby mode for required maintenance and updates.
Conclusion
Although often overlooked, TVs can consume a small but meaningful amount of energy when switched off or in standby. Older and larger TV models tend to have higher standby power consumption. However, modern TVs have very efficient standby modes using under 2 watts on average.
Disabling non-essential smart TV features like Quick Start can help minimize power use when not watching. With smart power management, you can enjoy all the benefits of modern TVs while also optimizing energy efficiency and costs.
| TV Type | On Power (watts) | Standby Power (watts) |
|---|---|---|
| Old CRT TV | 100-350 | 5-15 |
| Early 2000s flatscreen | 150-350 | 10-25 |
| Modern LED TV | 80-180 | 0.5-2 |
| Latest OLED TV | 50-100 | 0.3-1 |
As shown in the table, newer TV models have significantly improved efficiency and standby power consumption compared to older TVs. Advances like LED backlighting, solid-state components and better power management have enabled low standby power similar to other electronics like phones and laptops.
With smart use of settings and features, you can minimize the impact of TVs on your electricity costs and home energy footprint. While new TVs are highly energy efficient out of the box, you may be able to reduce standby power further by disabling always-on smart capabilities when not needed.