Energy saving tips

Most of us waste energy by leaving devices running when they’re not in use, or by not taking advantage of energy settings available on many products. There are several simple ways to help save the planet’s valuable resources – and you’ll save some money on your bills too. Take a look at these tips to get started.

Energy saving tip: turn off the TV picture to listen to music

Tip 1: Turn off the picture

Save energy to run a laptop for 4 years
Turn off the picture if you’re only listening to music through your TV. If you stream music or tune into digital radio for around 4 hours a day you could save enough energy in a year to run your VAIO laptop for up to 4 years. Here’s how we worked it out.

Typical power consumption for a TV = 125 Watts per hour*
TV with picture off playing radio would consume around 50 Watts
50 Watts x 4 hours a day x 365 days a year = 73,000 Watt Hours
Typical charge of standard VAIO laptop battery = 54 Watt Hours**

Result: 73,000 Watt Hours / 54 Watt Hours = 1,351 charges, multiplied by 4.5 hours battery life, divided by 4 hours usage per day and then by 365 days = 4.16 years

* based on a 52” (132cm) BRAVIA NX800
** based on a BPS22A Standard capacity VAIO Battery for a VAIO E series laptop
How our products can help
Many of our TVs have smart sensors that can tell whether you are watching the TV screen, and automatically dim or switch off the picture to save energy if you stop watching. VAIO laptops have a ‘display off’ button that instantly turns off the screen – an easy way to save power and make your battery last longer if you’re just listening to music.

Energy saving tip: turn off the TV when you leave the room

Tip 2: Turn off the TV completely

Save energy to run a fridge-freezer for 39 days
TVs are often left on for as much as one hour a day when nobody is watching. Make sure you switch off your TV when you’re not in the room, and the energy you save in a year could be enough to power a fridge-freezer for 39 days. Here’s how we worked it out.

Typical energy wasted leaving a TV on when not watching = 125 Watts per hour *
125 Watts x 1 hour a day x 365 days a year = 45,625 Watt Hours
Typical daily power consumption for a fridge = 1159 Watt Hours**

Result: 45,625 Watt Hours / 1159 Watt Hours = 39 days

* based on a 52” (132cm) BRAVIA NX800
** based on a Hotpoint FF7190EX Fridge Freezer
How our products can help
Many of our TVs have smart sensors that can tell whether you are watching the TV screen, and automatically switch off the picture to save energy if you leave the room.

Energy saving tip: use a built-in TV tuner

Tip 3: Use the built-in TV tuner

Save as much CO2 as driving for over 35km
Most TVs now come with a built-in tuner for accessing digital TV, including HD channels, and even cable and satellite TV tuners too. If you used a built-in tuner instead of a set top box for watching 4 hours of TV a day, in one year you could avoid emitting 4.9 kg of CO2, as much as you would emit driving a car over more than 35 km. Here’s how we worked it out.

Typical power consumption for a TV set top box = 10 Watts per hour*
10 Watts x 4 hours per day x 365 days a year =14,600 Watt Hours
Typical European CO2/kWh conversion factor = 0.0003355

Result: 14.6 kWh + 0.3355 = 4.9 kg CO2, divided by 0.130 kg CO2/km = 37.69 km

* based on a Goodmans GDB9 digital set-top box
** based on an average of the tCO2/kWh conversion factors for Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom according to data from the GHG Protocol and UK authorities.
How our products can help
All new TVs from Sony now include a built-in digital terrestrial tuner, and many models also have a cable or satellite tuner, so there’s no need for a separate set-top box.