Simple Energy Saving Measures For Your Favourite TV Gadgets

New technology often has the tendency to make your electricity bill go through the roof, and there is no clearer example of this than the new generation of HDTVs that are being pushed by the likes of Sky et al. However, with a few small changes, you can enjoy your new television without having to worry too much about the pennies.

Technology geeks tend to be smart types – so it’s only right that we start getting sharper on saving on those electricity bills, 48-hour downloads or not… Many  of these tips might seem embarrassingly simple, but you would be surprised by the number of well-educated computer and audio-visual geniuses who overlook these easy steps, all because they’re too busy or too distracted. So here are a few cheats to let you get the most from your gadgets without costs going through the roof.

Energy saving measures

Firstly, screen brightness is a major drain on electricity, so make sure that it’s kept relatively low. However, this can make things more difficult to see, so the trick is to simply turn the lights off in the living room. Now, whilst your parents may have once told you that watching the television in the dark is bad for the eyes, this was just a myth to make sure that you didn’t stay up to late. Turn the lights off, and turn the screen brightness down and you’ll save on the energy bill twice over.

Secondly, although screen burn was more of a problem with plasma televisions than newer LCD or LED ones, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t guard against it by simply switching your television off if you’re leaving it. Again, there’s a myth that turning on an electrical appliance uses more energy than you save by having it turned off, this is rubbish. So make sure that you don’t leave the television running in the background, both for making sure that it keeps it’s screen resolution, but also for saving the pennies.

Thirdly, keep an eye out for the ‘Energy Star’ sign that you see on a number of household items. Energy Star is a scheme that helps customers spot which devices use a lot of electricity, and which don’t, with so many models on the market at the moment, and often relatively little to choose between them, it’s worth letting your decision be guided by Energy Star.

A fourth tip, which is both practical and good for old-fashioned family values, is not to have more than one HDTV turned on at any one time. Whilst clever inventions like Sky Multi-room might allow you to watch different channels in different rooms, all in HD, the more televisions you have turned on, the more electricity you’re going to use. So it’s not such a bad idea to bring the family together around one set every now and then.

As energy bills look set to rocket in the coming years, it’s never a bad idea to keep an eye on limiting the amount you spend, and with a relatively small amount of effort you can save a surprisingly significant sum of money, so it’s more than worth giving it a go.