Cost to run an LED or LCD TV
An LED or LCD TV drawing 79.5 W costs 2.09p for each hour of running at 26.32p/kWh. Used 5.7 hours a day, every day, that comes to £3.67 a month.
An hour of running costs
2.09p an hour
That is 0.08 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £3.67 a month and £44.06 a year.
On the label or in the manual.
Standby, thermostats and off-peak use
A thermostat switches it on and off to hold a temperature. 100% if it runs flat out.
Drawn while plugged in and not running.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| An hour of running | 2.09p | 0.08 kWh | 17 g |
| A day, on average | 12.1p | 0.46 kWh | 100 g |
| A month | £3.67 | 14.0 kWh | 3 kg |
| A year | £44.06 | 167 kWh | 36.4 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 79.5 W running for an hour uses 0.08 kWh.
Standby is counted for every hour it is plugged in and not running, on days it is used and days it is not.
The figures are for ENERGY STAR certified models sold in the US and Canada. Certified models are more efficient than the average model on sale, and many are larger than the ones sold in Europe, so an older or less efficient one will use more. The power is the average measured while the TV is on, and it rises with screen size: the median certified TV here has a screen of 55 inches. The starting hours are the average of the survey’s weekday and weekend figures for the television households use most, which households reported and did not measure.
The starting use for an LED or LCD TV, 5.7 hours a day, every day, is where the calculator starts, not a measurement of your home: change it to how you use yours. A day is the average across the week, and a month is a twelfth of a 365-day year.
Electricity costs 26.32p/kWh. That is the published figure for the United Kingdom, 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026, from Ofgem. Average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. No VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Standing charges are left out: you pay them whether or not the appliance runs.
Emissions use 0.217 kg CO2e per kWh, the lifecycle intensity of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2025, from Ember, via Our World in Data. Lifecycle means building the power stations and supplying their fuel are counted too. It is the grid’s average, not the particular power station an extra appliance brings on.
What drives the cost
An LED or LCD TV draws 79.5 W while it is on, and it is on for hours. Across 81 certified models the median draws that on a screen of 55 inches, and standby is only 0.3 W. At 5.7 hours a day, every day, an LED or LCD TV costs £44.06 a year, so the cost is mostly a matter of how long it stays on.
Also called: television, TV, flat screen TV, smart TV, LCD TV, QLED TV.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For an LED or LCD TV used as typical (5.7 hours a day, every day), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 2.09p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 1.45¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.032 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,031 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,02 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,021 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,024 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,02 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED or LCD TV | 79.5 W | 2.09p | £44.06 |
| OLED TV | 113 W | 2.97p | £62.40 |
| Games console | 120 W | 3.16p | £23.06 |
| TV box | 40 W | 1.05p | £19.21 |
| DVD player | 40 W | 1.05p | £2.47 |
How to spend less on it
- Turn it off at the set or the plug when nobody is watching: a television left on in an empty room costs 2.09p an hour for nothing.
- Use the energy-saving picture mode and turn the brightness down a little: a brighter picture draws more.
- Remember what is plugged into it: a box, a console and a soundbar each draw their own on top of the screen’s.
Questions
How much does an LED or LCD TV cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, an LED or LCD TV drawing 79.5 W costs 2.09p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does an LED or LCD TV cost to run a year?
Used 5.7 hours a day, every day, it costs about £44.06 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or £3.67 a month.
How many watts does an LED or LCD TV use?
Most draw between 23.8 W and 166.2 W while running, and 79.5 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
How many hours a day do people watch television?
In the UK government’s Energy Follow-Up Survey, households said the television they use most is on for around five to six hours a day, and any others for one to two. These are what households reported, not measured, and the starting figure here follows them.
Does a bigger TV cost more to run?
Yes: power rises with screen size. The median certified TV here has a screen of 55 inches and draws 79.5 W, and across models most draw between 23.8 W and 166.2 W.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR Certified Televisions (open data), ENERGY STAR, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 September 2026. “ENERGY STAR certified LCD and QLED TVs, average on-mode power: median 79.5 W across 81 certified models, 10th to 90th percentile 23.8 W to 166 W (models where display_type in('LCD','QD-LED (QLED)')).”
- ENERGY STAR Certified Televisions (open data), ENERGY STAR, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 September 2026. “The same TVs' standby power: median 0.3 W across 73 certified models, 10th to 90th percentile 0.2 W to 0.42 W (models where display_type in('LCD','QD-LED (QLED)')).”
- Energy Follow-Up Survey 2011, Report 9: Domestic appliances, cooking & cooling equipment, BRE for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, December 2013. “approximately 5 to 6 hours per day, compared to 1 to 2 hours for the other televisions”
- How much electricity am I using?, Centre for Sustainable Energy, July 2026. “LCD TV (120 W)”
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