May 6, 2023, 10:07 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The EU has enacted a significantly stricter law regarding the power consumption of TV sets, which took effect on March 1, 2023. The aim of the so-called Ecodesign Directive is to improve the “environmentally friendly design of products.” The focus is primarily on reducing major energy consumers. This has far-reaching consequences.
The new Ecodesign Directive is not solely about televisions but generally about devices that consume electricity. However, since TVs are known to be among the larger energy consumers in most households, they are definitely the most affected. The new law is intended to benefit customers by saving on electricity costs. On the other hand, the range of products available to consumers will be significantly restricted, especially in the short term. For certain display technologies, such as large 8K monitors, it could also mean the end in Europe. The technology is not particularly strong in sales here anyway.
The regulation has been in place for several years, but the criteria were tightened in March 2023. Previously, the colorful energy label stickers with a color palette from green to red were mainly considered a guideline for consumers; now they mark actual sales bans for certain products. Additionally, the regulation no longer includes only “energy consumption-relevant” products, which is why display types such as televisions are now affected. Devices that exceed the set energy limits can no longer be sold.
EU Law Affects OLED TVs
Due to the significantly stricter EU limits, there are no TV sets in the “green” upper efficiency classes. According to the new energy classification, almost all modern televisions from 49 inches end up in the lowest energy efficiency class “G.” All monitors whose values are still above this “G” range are now subject to an actual sales ban. While display size is indeed considered in the classification, as larger devices naturally consume more power than smaller ones, larger monitors, especially those with OLED and/or 8K technology, are particularly affected. These previously had a special regulation, which now no longer applies.
This is primarily a problem for manufacturers. The EU also hopes that this will lead to more energy-efficient devices coming to market more quickly. For example, the well-known manufacturer LG Electronics has already announced that it will not launch any new LCD or 8K TVs in 2023. They plan to stick to the old models for the time being; the EU regulations do not apply to products already on the market.
Manufacturers Can Partially Circumvent Sales Ban
Manufacturers still have options to circumvent the new regulation, such as the tried-and-true brightness trick. The determined values and ultimately the energy classification apply to the brightness state upon delivery. Manufacturers can lower this to save power–but only up to 35 percent or at least 220 candela (per square meter).
The upper limit for consumption values set by the European Union specifically refers to the display of images in SDR (Standard Dynamic Range). In this mode, power consumption values are measured. Accordingly, manufacturers could redesign their devices to focus entirely on HDR (High Dynamic Range).
This is especially true for OLED TVs, which often come with 4K resolution today–but the situation is different for 8K. Broadly speaking, the more pixels (and with 8K, that’s about 8,000 horizontally), the more lines, the greater the required brightness, which in turn consumes more power. The Korean manufacturer Samsung has therefore already announced that it will install a new Eco mode in its 8K devices, which will be preset as standard upon delivery.