Readers of Digital-Lifestyle, among others, will be aware that there has been much talk in the past week about some pending EU legislation that could ban some plasma TVs because of their energy consumption:

“Minimum energy performance standards for televisions are expected to be agreed across Europe this spring, and this should lead to phasing out the most inefficient TV,” warned the EU, who will also set to introduce a labeling system detailing the energy used by each device.

The legislation being considered in the EU is part of a routine revision of energy consumption standards for different product categories, not specifically Plasmas, or even TVs.

LG has taken a proactive approach to energy and environmental issues, exceeding environmental standards long before they go into effect – all of LG’s TVs were RoHS compliant before it became mandatory.

Eco-Design Strategy of LG

LG follows an Eco-Design strategy for all of its products. This is a systematic way of assessing a product’s environmental impact from the initial product design stage, with the aim of reducing the overall environmental impact of a product from start to finish. Throughout this process LG pays special attention to prices, quality, raw materials, design, production, use, and disposal.
After each stage of development, LG asks an independent expert in the related sector to carry out an inspection and resolve any problems before the product is moved on to the next stage. A Life Cycle Assessment is performed at each stage to evaluate the product’s environmental impact. This ensures every product’s environmental suitability and encourages designs that will further enhance a product’s quality and functionality.

LG Plasma TVs’ eco-friendly features: Smart Energy Saving Plus

As a result, all of LG’s plasma TVs for 2009 come with LG’s Smart Energy Saving Plus eco-friendly features, making them some of the most efficient on the market. These features include the Intelligent Sensor featured on several of last years models – which automatically adjusts the TV’s settings to match the colour, temperature and light levels of the surrounding environment, improving picture quality while reducing eyestrain AND saving energy! – and LG’s brightness level control system, both of which can reduce consumption by up to 50 percent, this represents an efficiency increase of about 10 percent increase over LG’s 2008 models.

Other features that make LG plasma TVs eco-friendly

Other features that make LG’s plasma TVs eco-friendly include the reduction of energy consumed while sets are on standby, which is now practically non-existent, and the use of Single-scan panels which greatly reduce the number of parts required for a plasma TV. (In 2006, LG became the first company to develop single-scan 60-inch panels, fact fans!). Single scan panels require only one set of drivers, rather than the two sets required on dual scan panels, simultaneously lowering power consumption and extending the life of the phosphors.
From the outset, LG plasma TVs are designed to reduce resource consumption and many of its components are also designed to be recyclable. The TVs are coated in non-flammable materials to prevent leakage of hazardous gases in a fire. They are also designed to be easily disassembled for easier recycling. In addition, the company has improved its TVs’ safety by refraining from using hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, PBB and PBDE, and the additive DecaBDE.