What uses more electricity, 42'inch LCD TV or a regular Desktop Computer?

Question

My mother always braggs about the high cost bills on electricity and blames it on me cause i spend too much time in the PC. My excuse however, is to tell her that the TV consumes much more electricity than the computer itself(dont know if its right but who cares as long as i dont get punished...) , that kinda settles it down a bit but i am not sure if iam correct here. So, what does use more electricity PC or a 42 inch LCD TV?

Answer 1

Well, first there is no standard TV or PC ... power consumption depends on brand/model and what extras are included in the PC.

The first link shows power requirements for a range of HDTVs.  Somewhere between 130 and 220 watts appears to be the range for a 42" model.

PCs are much more variable, but it's unlikely a normal PC itself would draw more than 150-200 watts even under heavy load. See 2nd link.

HOWEVER, the monitor may be the killer since an LCD monitor (or CRT model) can easily draw 100 watts or more.

My guess is the TV and PC are not very different in power consumption per hr of use ... certainly not enough for either to be ignored ... although that that doesn't allow for total power consumed. If for example you have the computer on for 6 hrs and your mom's TV is on for 2 hrs ... you could be using 2x-3x the power.

Conclusion ... your mom is right ... your consumption is not negligible and if you rack up more "on-time" you could be the big consumer.

Now on another point ... since you don't pay the bills and money is plainly an issue for your mother you may be able to calm the waters if you contribute something to the household elctrical bill. You should be able to find $5/mo from some type of job ... and then you can breath easy since you won't get hassled.