In support of the European Commission’s ongoing review of existing energy-efficiency policies for appliances, CLASP prepared the following discussion paper as an independent contribution to certain aspects of the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling criteria for electronic displays.  Due to technological advances that have made it difficult to clearly define separate product categories, the Commission is considering the application of one set of Ecodesign and Energy Labelling requirements for all electronic displays, including televisions, computer monitors, and digital photo frames.

This discussion paper proposes potential maximum wattage power consumption requirements for electronic displays based on a current database of models available in the European market.  It provides the general context for these suggested power consumption levels, including: 

• A summary of the European regulatory and voluntary measures that apply to electronic displays, as well as some discussion of the United States ENERGY STAR program for televisions.
• An overview of the European market, including information on models and trends around screen size and average energy consumption, and an overview of television technologies.
• A discussion of issues for consideration in the revision of the regulation, including energy efficiency trends and product features such as 3D screens, internet-connected TVs, automatic brightness control, ultra-high definition displays, and more.
• A presentation of three potential Ecodesign energy requirements for electronic displays based on a 2014 database.

This paper was prepared for CLASP by Bob Harrison and Michael Scholand, with input from various stakeholders, including industry. An Excel spreadsheet containing the anonymous database of electronic displays in Europe that was used for this analysis is also available below.