The short answer

Calculate active viewing and standby separately, using each mode's energy and hours. A display label's kWh per 1,000 hours prices its stated viewing test, not an entire household year. Add standby only for hours outside active use, and keep soundbars, consoles and streaming boxes outside or inside the boundary consistently.

Use the electricity cost calculator
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Price viewing and waiting as different states

A TV’s electricity use depends on how it operates as well as its size. Picture settings, the content displayed and network functions can change the relevant power. ENERGY STAR’s television criteria assess defined on modes and distinguish passive standby from network-active standby. They are test and certification conditions, not a promise that every television draws the same watts.

For a useful household estimate, identify your model, viewing settings and viewing hours first. Use the electricity calculator for active power and time, then the standby calculator for separately timed low-power modes.

Convert a display label without inventing a year

EU display labels distinguish SDR and HDR energy information. Their kWh per 1,000 hours figures describe the corresponding test basis. For example, an illustrative label value of 70 kWh/1,000 hours means:

70 ÷ 1,000 = 0.07 kWh per viewing hour, equivalent to a 70 W test average.

It does not mean 70 kWh/year, and it does not establish a constant draw in every scene. Four viewing hours daily for 30 days gives 0.07 × 4 × 30 = 8.4 kWh under that assumed basis. At £0.28/kWh, the viewing-only estimate is £2.35.

Edit the 70 W viewing illustration. The entered power, rate and routine are editable assumptions, not a product recommendation.

If you watch a mix of SDR and HDR, apply each compatible figure to its own viewing hours. Do not add full-day SDR and HDR use on top of one another. Great Britain and Northern Ireland use different regulatory routes for some product requirements; check the applicable label market rather than treating every European figure as interchangeable.

Add only the standby hours left over

Extend the illustrative 30-day scenario with 0.5 W during the remaining 20 hours each day:

Mode Explicit assumption Energy in 30 days Cost at £0.28/kWh
Viewing 70 W for 4 hours/day 8.4 kWh £2.35
Standby 0.5 W for 20 hours/day 0.3 kWh £0.08
Combined 24 total mode hours/day 8.7 kWh £2.44

The combined cost uses unrounded energy and price; adding the rounded mode costs gives a one-penny difference. Neither power figure is a household measurement. At the same routine for 365 days, total modeled energy would be 105.85 kWh, costing £29.64.

If a smart network mode instead uses a different measured value, replace the standby assumption. A settings change can alter wake-up or remote functions as well as consumption. Do not substitute an efficiency standard’s maximum for an actual reading and describe it as measured.

Measure a TV without mixing in the room

For a TV-only result, measure the socket supplying the television, with the soundbar, console and streaming box outside that boundary. For a whole entertainment setup, measure the group and label it accordingly. A group total cannot also be added to the full individual device totals.

Record the picture mode, automatic-brightness setting, SDR/HDR content and network options with your observation. A complete-day kWh sample already includes the viewing and standby captured. The journal can retain the raw counters and conditions; do not add the same standby energy again after transferring that full-day sample.

Which setting should you investigate first?

Compare a representative period at settings that meet your viewing needs. The Commission’s display guidance highlights brightness and picture modes as factors to check, while the model’s documentation gives its specific options. The difference observed under one content mix does not establish a saving for every film, game or room.

Use the game-console guide if a console is also active. Enter each device once in the household planner, then use the bill-period check to compare the matching period with billed kWh.

Price separate operating states

Choose “Separate active, idle and standby modes” in the electricity calculator. Record average input watts, daily hours and a source or assumption for each state. The hours must total no more than 24; unassigned time remains excluded. A complete-day measurement is an alternative and must not be added to overlapping mode estimates. Follow a reproducible mode example before applying your own tariff and use days.