California to Ban Power-Hungry HDTVs to Conserve Energy Towards Greener Environments

As an effort towards greener environment, California Energy Commission has drafted out new regulations that would potentially ban HDTVs (High Definition TVs) especially those that draws excessive current and consumes much power from being sold in the state.

If the regulation is approved, about one forth of existing HDTV models will be removed from the commercial shelves, not to mention about those Plasma TV sets which consume even more power as compared to conventional HDTVs. The commission claimed that the new act would help to conserve $8.1 billion in 10 years time, apart from the eco-friendly initiatives. However, the proposal is not echoed by CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) due to the reason that it may impose additional cost to its products’ development and manufacturing process which may eventually bring up the final sales price. Nevertheless, some panel makers argued that the proposal may not necessarily impact consumers with higher retail price with technology evolution but what is definitely true here is those power hungry Plasma TVs may extinct in California State if the new regulation is implemented.

No further detail on what specification is considered good but there will be a 45-day period for public feedback with final approval date expected in November time frame. The effective date would commence by 2011 followed by even stringent requirement by 2013.