How Much Does It Cost to Run a TV?
About $0.02 per hour, or roughly $2.40 per monthfor a typical 55" LED/QLED watched 5 hours a day. TVs draw between about 30W (small bedroom LED) and 250W+ (large 85" QLED or older 4K LCD). At the 2024 US average rate of $0.16/kWh, a 100W TV running 5 hours uses 0.50 kWh — about $0.08/day or $29/year. Add 1-3W of standby draw (~$2.80/year) when the TV is "off" but plugged in.
Want to estimate your exact set? Use the TV page of the appliance calculator (pre-loaded at 100W), or compare it against other always-on loads on the efficiency rankings.
The Formula
Cost per day = (watts ÷ 1,000) × hours watched × price per kWh
TV wattage in spec sheets is the "typical in-use" figure on the EnergyGuide sticker, not peak. Real draw moves with picture brightness and content, especially on OLED, but the EnergyGuide number is what we anchor on here.
Worked example (100W 55" LED, 5 hours/day, $0.16/kWh): 0.1 kW × 5 h = 0.50kWh × $0.16 = $0.08 per day — or $2.40/month, $29/year.
Cost by Hours Watched (100W 55" TV)
For a typical 100W 55" LED/QLED at $0.16/kWh. Nielsen puts the average US adult around 5 hours of daily TV viewing.
| Hours per day | kWh per day | Cost per day | Cost per month | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0.20 | $0.03 | $0.96 | $12 |
| 4 | 0.40 | $0.06 | $1.92 | $23 |
| 5 (US average) | 0.50 | $0.08 | $2.40 | $29 |
| 8 (heavy viewer) | 0.80 | $0.13 | $3.84 | $47 |
Cost by TV Size and Type
Typical in-use wattage by panel size and technology, from Energy Star database ranges. Annual cost assumes 5 hours/day at $0.16/kWh.
| TV | Watts (typical) | kWh per day | Cost per year | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43" LED | 60W | 0.30 | $18 | Bedroom / small living room |
| 55" LED / QLED (typical) | 100W | 0.50 | $29 | Typical primary TV |
| 65" QLED | 140W | 0.70 | $41 | Larger main TV |
| 65" OLED | 180W | 0.90 | $53 | Bright scenes peak higher |
| 75" LED / QLED | 190W | 0.95 | $55 | Big-room or home theater |
| 85" QLED | 250W | 1.25 | $73 | Wall-filler; older 4K LCDs similar |
Cost Per Day by Rate and Wattage
Same 5 hours of viewing, different electricity rates. Find your state on the rates page to pick the right column.
| Rate ($/kWh) | 60W | 100W | 140W | 200W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.10 | $0.03 | $0.05 | $0.07 | $0.10 |
| $0.13 | $0.04 | $0.07 | $0.09 | $0.13 |
| $0.16 (US avg) | $0.05 | $0.08 | $0.11 | $0.16 |
| $0.20 | $0.06 | $0.10 | $0.14 | $0.20 |
| $0.30 | $0.09 | $0.15 | $0.21 | $0.30 |
Multiply by 30 for monthly cost or 365 for annual. A 100W TV at $0.30/kWh (Hawaii/New England peak) runs about $55/year — over double the US-average bill for the same hours.
Don't Forget Standby Power
Modern smart TVs sit at about 2W (1-3W is typical) when you press the power button to "off." That keeps the IR receiver, network connection, and fast-start features alive so the TV wakes in a second instead of 20.
2W × 24h × 365 days = 18 kWh/year — about $2.80at the US average rate. Small, but households often have a TV, soundbar, and set-top box on the same outlet, each pulling their own standby. A switched power strip or smart plug zeroes out the lot when nobody's watching.
The trade-off is the 10-20 second cold-start wait when you turn it back on. Worth it for the bedroom TV that runs 1 hour a night. Not worth it for the living-room set someone always sits down to.
What Drives the Cost
Screen size, not technology, is the main driver
Doubling diagonal size more than doubles the lit area, and backlight is where most of the power goes. A 43" LED at ~60W and an 85" QLED at ~250W are both LCD panels — the size gap drives the 4x cost gap. Type only changes things at the margins (~20-30% OLED vs LED at the same size).
Picture mode and backlight setting
The biggest single lever you control. Vivid/Dynamic modes (the showroom default) push backlight to 100% and crank contrast — sometimes 2x the power draw of Cinema/Filmmaker mode showing the same content. Most rooms don't need more than 50-70% backlight; the difference is invisible at home, very visible on the bill.
Content brightness (especially on OLED)
LED/QLED TVs draw roughly the same regardless of what's on screen — the backlight is always on. OLEDs light each pixel, so a dark drama might pull 80W on a 65" set while a bright sports broadcast or HDR demo on the same TV pulls 200W+. That's why OLED "average" draw varies so much by household.
Soundbar, set-top box, and game console all add up
A soundbar adds 10-30W during use plus ~1W standby. A cable/satellite DVR runs 30-40W 24/7 — often more annual kWh than the TV itself. A console left in rest mode adds 10-15W around the clock. Add up the "TV setup" rather than just the panel for an honest number.
How to Lower the Cost
Switch out of Vivid/Dynamic mode
Cinema, Movie, or Filmmaker mode cuts backlight 15-30% and looks closer to what the content creators actually saw. Biggest no-cost saving available.
Enable the ambient light sensor
Auto-brightness dims the panel when the room is dark — the only time you can tell. Saves 10-20% on average and reduces eye strain at night.
Turn it off when nobody's watching
Background TV is the single biggest waste. Replace it with a $10 smart speaker for music — saves $0.02/hour at typical TV wattage.
Kill set-top box standby
Cable boxes are the worst offenders — 30-40W 24/7 = 260-350 kWh/year. If you don't need scheduled recordings, put it on a smart plug with the TV.
Replace pre-2012 LCD or any plasma
A 50" plasma costs 3-5x more to run than a same-size modern LED. Five-year payback on electricity alone is common for a daily-use plasma.
Use eco mode on smart TVs
Most Energy Star TVs ship with an Eco/Power-Saving toggle in the settings menu that bundles backlight and ambient sensor changes. Free 15-25% reduction.
Recommended picks
TV Setup Picks That Keep the Bill Down
Most TV savings come from settings you change once — picture mode, ambient sensor, and standby control. These pieces help you lock in those wins or replace the highest-draw setups.
Energy Star LED/QLED TV
25%+ less than non-rated
Energy Star TVs cut typical viewing draw by 25% versus uncertified panels of the same size — usually $5-$15/year saved at 5 hours of nightly viewing.
Smart Plug with Schedule
Kill the 1-3W standby
A scheduled smart plug cuts the always-on standby draw of a smart TV (1-3W) overnight. Small per-hour but it adds 8-25 kWh a year on a 24/7 panel.
TV Light Sensor / Ambient Mode
Auto-dim to room
Most TVs ship at showroom brightness. Enabling the ambient light sensor or eco mode cuts backlight power 15-30% with no perceptible quality drop at home.
Energy Monitor Smart Plug
Measure actual draw
OLED draw varies a lot with content brightness. A plug-in monitor shows your TV's real average watts — often well below the spec sheet's max.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to run a TV?
A typical 55" LED/QLED TV draws about 100W while watching, which uses 0.50 kWh over 5 hours of viewing. At the 2024 US average rate of $0.16/kWh, that works out to roughly $0.08 a day, $2.40 a month, and $29 a year. A 43" LED in a bedroom is closer to $18/year, while an 85" QLED running the same hours is about $73/year.
Does an OLED TV cost more to run than an LED or QLED?
It depends on what you watch. OLED panels light each pixel individually, so a dark movie can pull less than a same-size LED, while a bright sports broadcast or HDR demo pulls more. Averaged over typical mixed viewing, a 65" OLED uses about 20-30% more than a 65" LED. The gap shrinks the more you watch dark content and grows with HDR at peak brightness.
How much does a TV use in standby?
Modern smart TVs draw about 2W in standby (1-3W is typical). Over a full year, that is around 18 kWh — roughly $2.80 at the US average rate. It is a small line item next to the 29 dollars spent watching it, but multiple TVs and set-top boxes on one outlet can compound to $20-$40/year of always-on draw.
Is the TV one of the bigger items on my bill?
For most households, no. Even a big 75" QLED watched 5 hours a day costs about $55/year — far behind HVAC, water heating, and the fridge. TVs add up in households with several panels running many hours, but a single primary set is usually $20-$70/year.
How can I lower the cost of running my TV?
Drop showroom-bright picture modes: most TVs ship in Vivid or Dynamic, which crank the backlight far higher than needed at home. Switching to a Cinema/Movie/Filmmaker preset and enabling the ambient light sensor cuts backlight power 15-30% with no quality loss. Turn the TV off when nobody is watching (background TV is the single biggest waste), and put set-top boxes that don't need to record on a switched outlet to kill their always-on draw.
Are older TVs much more expensive to run?
Plasma TVs, yes — a 50" plasma drew 300-400W vs ~80W for a same-size modern LED, a 3-5× cost difference. Older CCFL-backlit LCDs from before ~2012 used roughly 1.5-2× the power of current LEDs at the same size. If you still have a plasma running daily, replacing it typically pays back the difference within 5-7 years on electricity alone.