Finding the most energy efficient TV in China and in Europe:not such an easy job …

摘要

Judging from the declared On-mode power found on ToptenChina and Topten Europe, the most energy efficient TVs on theEuropean market seem to be far more efficient than those onthe Chinese market. Topten International wanted to find outwhether this finding is a fact or whether different measurementprotocols and methods caused the difference.An international testing project was launched: three testinginstitutes, CVC and NIM from China and VDE from Germany,each tested the most efficient 46-inch-TV from Topten Chinaand from Topten Europe according to the Chinese and theEuropean Energy labels and the relevant measurement procedures.The TV models selected for the test were the A++-Philips46PFL6806K (Europe) and the Hisense LED46K200 (China).The results were used to verify the values declared by the manufacturersand to check the products’ compliance with relevantminimum requirements. The results show that the On-modepower of the European TV model is indeed considerably lowerthan that of the Chinese model. Whether this makes the Europeanmodel a more energy efficient TV than the Chinese modelhowever depends on the perspective: while according to the EUEnergy Label the European TV model is more energy efficientthan the Chinese model, on the Chinese Energy Label the latterreaches a better grade than the EU-TV. The reason is to befound in the different definitions of TV energy efficiency: theEU Energy Label defines TV efficiency as a low power input fora given screen size, while in China the most energy efficient TVsare those with the highest brightness for a given power input.This testing project provides detail insights of strengths andweaknesses of the different measurement standards, whichcan be used to conclude on specific improvements. The resultsshow that the definition of efficiency and the specificities ofmeasurement methods obviously have a very strong influenceon product design.