Living Greener With Home Entertainment and Technology

Whether you're in the market for new equipment or wanting to reduce energy consumption of your existing equipment, our guide to home entertainment and technology offers some simple actions to suit a variety of budgets, lifestyles and technical know-how.

Before you buy

Technology is moving fast and can be expensive so it makes sense to work out your requirements and do some research online and then in-store before you buy.

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Many products have the same or similar features, so think about whether you need the latest laptop, smart phone, e-book reader, tablet etc - or whether fewer items or upgrades can meet your needs.

With the facts you'll be able to work out whether you really need a new product to do the job - and if you do decide to buy, you can feel confident you're purchasing equipment that will give you optimal experience with features you will use and that pass the test of time.

Here are our key tips:

• Consider whether any of your existing equipment can be refurbished or upgraded. This can save valuable resources and money without sacrificing performance.
• Make a list of features that are important to you - for example: size, audio and visual quality, and connectivity. Look for products that meet your requirements.
• Consider how your products will work together to provide the functions you need - as well as the range of technologies you may already have access to within your household and workplace.
• Take energy use into account. While the lowest price tag might seem the cheapest way to go, the running costs over 10 years can add up to much more than you realise.
• Search online for 'green' home entertainment industry leaders with an environmental section on their website. Start by reading the reviews on technology sites to find the environmental innovators who produce energy-efficient products and features.
• Look for quality items that will last and think about how you will dispose of them at the end of their life. It's a waste of money, time and resources to buy inferior products that will end up as e-waste in landfill in a couple of years.
• Check that any technology you're buying can be adapted to new technologies in the foreseeable future. Whether they are high quality or low cost, there is little value in purchasing products that will become incompatible or redundant before too long.
• Once you've short-listed your potential purchases, you can calculate the annual running cost to narrow down your selection. The most energy-efficient products have the lowest input watts. The energy savings may not seem much at first, but with the increasing number of electronic goods and rising energy prices, your energy bills are likely to become more expensive over time.
• Look for products with low standby consumption. Check the manufacturer's standby power information - ideally you are looking for products that use 1 watt or less in standby mode. These products are up to 90 per cent more efficient than other models.
• If products have similar features and energy output and you're tossing up which one to buy - choose the product that uses less standby power.

Televisions

One in four Australians buy a new television each year and they're now the fourth largest electricity user in our homes.

While it may be tempting to go for the cheapest or the biggest, over the course of its lifetime an inefficient TV can really add to your power bills and greenhouse gas emissions, and may not even give you the best viewing experience along the way.

The television is the centrepiece of most home entertainment activity, so it's well worth the time to do a little research online before you navigate your way through the in-store sales experience. This way you'll not only save on petrol but you'll improve your ability to negotiate for the best TV to suit your needs and budget.

• Make a list of things that are most important to you. For example, screen size, picture, sound quality, features, ease of use (including the remote control), brand, and range of use (like internet connection). Ensure you add technology type and energy efficiencyto the list. An inefficient television can cost you considerably more to run over 10 years. For example (based on a sample electricity rate of 23 cents):
  • a 117cm plasma TV with 2-star label of 953 kilowatt hours per year can cost around $2,190 over 10 years
  • a 117cm LCD (LED) TV with a 7-star label of 310 kilowatt hours per year can cost around $710 over 10 years.
• The Energy Rating Label will help you choose the most energy-efficient model that meets your needs. You can compare the energy efficiency of the various brands and models of equivalent sized televisions on the Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) website.
• As technology prices come down, resist the temptation to upsize. Bigger screens don't necessarily mean better quality viewing.
• Consider opting for a smaller screen size - it will use less power. If you take room size and seating plan into account, you may find you don't need a huge screen. The bigger the screen, the further away you'll need to sit. As a rule of thumb, multiply the diagonal measurement of the screen by 2.5 to estimate the ideal viewing distance. If you've got a 117cm TV multiply this by 2.5 and the best distance to sit from your TV is about 3 metres.
• When you're in the store, ask the sales person about energy efficiency. You can also calculate the annual running costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Understanding TV power consumption

There are four main factors that influence how much power your television uses:

1. Technology type(the light source used to produce the picture)
   • LCD (liquid crystal display) is back-lit using a single fluorescent (cold cathode fluorescent lighting - CCFL). Newer LCDs use LED (light-emitting diodes), making them significantly more efficient.
   • Plasma is lit by charging each sub-pixel individually, meaning plasma technology generally uses around two to three times more power than LCD.
   • OLED (organic light-emitting diode) is the most energy efficient. The technology is new which means the upfront cost puts them at the high end of the market and they aren't yet available in larger screen sizes. Like most new technology, prices will come down over time.
2. Screen size - the bigger the screen, the more power consumed.
3. Picture brightness - the more light output, the greater your power consumption.
4. Use - modern TVs are designed to continually be in 'standby' mode, ready to be operated by remote control. Unless switched off at the wall, they're consuming power continuously even when you're not watching.

Use your TV efficiently

A big screen television used 6 hours a day can generate around half a tonne of greenhouse gases a year - more than a family fridge.