Energy Star 4.0 is Now in Effect

Energy efficiency is the name of the game as the new standard cuts power consumption in half.

Energy Star 4.0 is now officially the new standard that TVs must abide by if they want to carry the Energy Star logo. It's a pretty dramatic change, but it's been a long time coming. Energy Star 3.0 was behind the times as far as these things go.

Still, the changes are significant. According to the 3.0 specification, a 50 inch television could consume 318 watts when turned on. Energy Star 4.0 kicks that on down to 153 watts.

Even that seemingly huge cut won't be a challenge for most manufacturers. Even Panasonic's 54 inch VT25 plasma only consumes an average of 159 watts. And of course, any TV that was manufactured before the cutoff date still gets the Energy Star 3.0 tags.

Energy Star 4.0 was more of a way to get caught up than anything else. Companies have been focusing a lot on efficiency in the last few years. Energy Star 5.0, due out in 2012, will cut that 50 inch limit to 108 watts.

Source: PC World