Home entertainment

Television

TVs, DVD and videos account for the majority of electricity consumption by consumer electronics within the home. Traditional cathode ray TVs typically consume 140W when switched on and even when in standby mode, they still consume some 3 – 7W of power. It has actually been calculated by The Energy Savings Trust, that UK households actually spend 10% of their overall electricity bill for appliances left on stand by.

Cathode ray tubes are now being being replaced by plasma and LCD flat screen TVs. Although similar in appearance their rates of power consumption are markedly different. Plasma TVs typically consume more power than older cathode ray tubes, whereas LCD televisions consume less; with some manufacturers claiming up to 30% power savings for LCD. The stand by mode of such a set consumes less than 1W, though of course the best advice is still just to switch it off.

For a new TV, as with buying any electrical appliance, first check out any energy efficiency rating labels. Also and maybe not so surpisingly, the larger the screen, the greater the actual energy consumption.

Radio

Thanks to the the great British inventor Trevor Bayliss, there is now a range of wind up radios from which you can choose. No power required other than that supplied by yourself when winding it up. No electrical consumption and no need for frequent replacement of batteries, saving on their manufacture and disposal; neither of those activities being particularly environmentally kind.

For these use anywhere radios, we would recommend an FM model over digital. FM radio coverage is more extensive in the UK and a power hungry DAB radio is not a sensible option for wind up operation. For the reasons of aesthetics combined with practicality, and also being backed up by the quality of manufacture expected of a big brand, our choice would be the excellent Sony ICFB01D.CE7