The two main things you need to consider while buying a Plasma TV are the amount of power it would consume and the Environmental impact of Plasma TV. The features of a plasma TV that have an effect on the environment are the way it is manufactured, the usage at home and its disposal. The Plasma TV sets use gas ionization technology which consumes a lot of electricity so as to give tiny pixel cells contributing to a brighter and clearer image. Latest surveys on Plasma television sets revealed that the usage of these is the major contributor for electricity bills in most countries. The larger the size and clarity of the television the more amount of power it consumes.  The power consumption is at its peak while displaying bright and colorful moving images and does not reduce when the set is left in ‘Stand By’ state which most people tend to do often.

The introduction of energy star ratings for television sets has ensured that the manufacturing companies enhance the energy efficiency of their models. They were forced to drop their stand by usage from 20 watt/hr to 1 watt/hr thereby reducing the stand by usage time of the appliance. The broadcast of programs through satellite networks to households also consumes a lot of power and usage of Plasma TV’s only increases the usage because of the need to send the signals in both analog and digital formats.

The manufacture of the television sets includes working with glass and semi conductor devices which use considerable amount of energy. Besides, the transport of these sets through land and water causes more pollution.  Hence the companies have come up with more corporate social responsibility programs to keep in check the pollution and to optimize the usage of energy. And finally the disposal of the wastes generated by the manufacturing is also a major problem as they release toxic substances like Mercury, Cadmium which are used in electronic devices, into the environment. There are various waste disposal plans available which are safe and free of negative impacts, so it is advisable to contact an environmental engineer, to dispose the old and used sets off or better, to reuse them appropriately.

Hence the Environmental impact of Plasma TV has to be duly considered and comparisons must be made based on authentic information about the amount of energy utilized in the manufacture, the power consumption, Stand by time and the materials used in the manufacture, before selecting any particular brand. Appropriate screen size with an energy efficient model as recommended above needs to be selected from a manufacturer who has the best corporate social responsibility schemes in their organization. The retailer from whom a television is bought also has to share the environmental concerns and has to be knowledgeable of all the appropriate details. It is better to have the check list handy while purchasing any electronic appliance. The check list should contain an energy efficient brand, optimum screen size, comparison of prices and internal parts that assemble the appliance.