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Have you ever stopped to think how much a smart TV costs? I know, you’ve spent a fair amount to actually get one but what about the monthly costs behind it? When you stop to think about it, there’s a lot of extra monthly costs like streaming subscriptions as well as the electricity costs of running it. That’s right, your smart TV might actually be costing you more than you think. And especially here in the UK right now with the cost of living crisis and electricity bills spiking, you might want to think about how much your smart TV might be costing you a month. So, the team at Systems Insights have made this guide to help you understand what potential costs your smart TV might have that you wouldn’t have considered as well as ways to reduce this to save you some money.
What are the Smart TV Energy Ratings?
If you want to know how much a smart TV is going to impact your energy bills, then you’ll need to understand the energy ratings. These energy ratings show the energy consumption of the smart TV in kWh per 1000 hours of use. This might sound a bit complicated, but simply it means how much energy it’ll use up if you run it for 1000 hours. So, if you’re looking to understand how much electricity your smart TV is going to use up and add to your electricity bills, then take a quick look at its energy rating.
Since 2021, they’ve also developed a new energy rating system which is easier to understand and use. It works on an A-G scale, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient. Simply put, the higher the letter grade, the more energy efficient and cheaper it is to run the smart TV. As you can see, these energy ratings make it easier for you to understand how energy efficient it will be as you should aim for as high a letter grade as possible when looking at buying a new smart TV.
(Screen) Size Matters…
However, it’s also important to consider that a bigger screen size means it’ll also consume more energy. As such, it might not be worth it to get as big a screen as possible as it might cost you more than you think. If this has you reconsidering getting a massive smart TV, then check out this blog post to help you decide what’s the right screen size for you.
As well as this, the energy ratings are done in comparison to other smart TVs of the same screen size. If you’re comparing two of the same size, it’s as simple as getting the higher rated option, but it might get confusing if you’re comparing getting two different sizes meaning you might need to do a bit more research before buying. So if you’re looking at the costs of a new smart TV, don’t use the energy rating alone as the screen size will also impact the amount of electricity it’ll use.
What about Energy Saving Modes on my Smart TV?
If you’re looking to reduce the costs of your current smart TV, then why not double check if it’s got an eco mode that’ll do it for you? This’ll be in the settings and turn off a lot of the features and technology which draw a lot of power on your smart TV. It might also be called a low power mode or energy saving mode, so double check for any version of these in your settings. This’ll help you save money on your energy bills by turning off or putting the really high-power technology and features on low. So if you want to save money on your energy bills, save yourself some time (and a headache!) fiddling with your smart TV’s settings by using the eco mode that comes pre-installed.
However, keep in mind that for the most part it’ll be turning down settings on your smart TV, negatively affecting the picture quality that you’ll get. This mode is likely to turn down your image brightness as well as turn off the really powerful technologies like motion smoothing or AI upscaling, as these will take a lot of power. So if you want to use an eco or energy saving mode on your smart TV to save some money, then you’ll have to consider that you might end up looking at a worse image than before. As such, it might be worth keeping on the energy saving mode most of the time until you’re watching your favourite shows or films and then turning on the better performance modes.
If you’re looking for a new smart TV that’s got a great eco mode, then look no further than the Sony Bravia 9. With an Eco Dashboard that lets you see and manage its current level of energy consumption, you can choose from a number of power-saving options that suit you and how you use it. With Sony boasting that the Bravia 9 can save you up to £380 on your energy bills, it’s worth checking out as an investment as it is pretty pricey here.
As you can see, there’s a lot more costs to a smart TV than you might have previously thought. If you want to know how much your current or future one might affect your electricity bills, then take a look at its energy ratings. As well as that, consider the screen size as the bigger it is, the more energy it’ll need to power. If you’re wanting to save some money, then see if your current smart TV’s got any eco settings or modes as this’ll automatically change your settings to help you save both energy and money. If this blog’s helped you consider how much your smart TV’s actually costing you as well as maybe trying out an energy saving mode, why not share this blog with your family and friends to educate them as well?