California introduces mandatory rules for HDTV energy usage

The California Energy Commission has just announced the USA’s first state-mandated regulations for energy efficiency.

The regulations will apply to HDTVs with screens up to 58 inches and will come into effect in January 2011.

The guidelines already in place for HDTV energy consumption, from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, were only voluntary, whereas the new regulations will be mandatory.

Although the regulations only apply in California, they will obviously affect all suppliers to the Californian market, meaning that their effect is likely to reach far beyond the state’s borders.

In California energy consumption from TVs has grown from 3 per cent of residential electricity usage, to 8 per cent, since 2000, and consumption is still growing.