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| Research shows 4K Ultra HD displays use 30 per cent MORE power to run than standard HD |
THE latest Ultra HD 4K television sets use almost a THIRD more electricity than a standard HD set.
Ultra HD will be the future of home entertainment.
The staggeringly sharp picture offers an incredible viewing experience, thanks to the rich colours and detailed image, which makes standard High Definition look decidedly average.
UHD 4K refers to any display with a horizontal resolution of some 4,000 pixels or higher, compared to the 1080 pixels in a full HD TV.
But these pixel-packed displays munch through 30 per cent more power than older sets.
A report by the Natural Resources Defence Council claims consumers face higher household bills when watching a 4K television.
"Americans' residential energy bills could rise by more than $1 billion per year if all televisions larger than 36 inches transition to 4K at today's average efficiency," the report claimed.
Natural Resources Defence Council, dubbed NRDC, raised concerns about the environmental impact of the latest craze for higher resolution displays.
"The potential national energy impacts of the shift to 4K TVs are profound," the NRDC report adds.
Ultra HD is undoubtedly the best way to watch your favourite television shows or movies – but with 4K screens getting bigger and brighter every day, it is obvious that they'll end up sucking more power.
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| Sky Q supports Ultra HD 4K broadcasts, although Sky won't launch its UHD channels until late 2016 |
Sky recently announced a brand-new satellite service which will support Ultra HD 4K channels for the first time.
Rival BT is already broadcasting a number of sports matches in Ultra HD and on-demand competitors including Amazon and Roku have recently released hardware with support for 4K streaming.
NRDC also highlights the connected internet features bundled with most modern TVs as another factor which increase energy consumption.
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| Natural Resources Defence Council release statistics surrounding new Ultra HD 4K TVs |
High Dynamic Range, or HDR technology, included as standard on most modern displays, combines several images together and picks the best parts of each to produce a final picture with better contrast
HDR is thought to increased power usage by up to 47 per cent.
The advice from the NRDC is to check the power rating of any new TV before you buy and choose models with the Energy Star label.
Consumers can also cut several hundred pounds off the lifetime energy costs of a new UHD TV by ensuring Automatic Brightness Control is enabled, and avoiding the quick start feature on Internet-connected televisions that results in significant amounts of wasted standby power.
Energy Consumption Statistics, from NRDC –
- 8 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in additional electricity use per year, or as much electricity as 2.5 large (500 megawatt) power plants produce annually – three times the amount of electricity consumed by all of the homes in San Francisco each year.
- $1 billion (£600 million) in additional annual costs to consumers to operate their televisions.
- 5 million extra metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution emitted annually from the additional electricity use.
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