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Every TV has a number of different “Picture Modes” to choose from.
How much energy does this mode actually save?
Is it worth using?
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What Is Energy Saving Mode?
Picture modeson your TV are presets for different brightness, contrast, and saturation levels.
you might usually adjust these things separately, but the modes do it all for you.
“Energy Saving” mode is simply designed to optimize these tweaks for saving power.
The most obvious way it does this is by dimming the screen.
Energy Saving mode will typically be the dimmest of all the modes available on your TV.
Related:What Does “Game Mode” On My TV Or Monitor Mean?
The Data
Enough talk, let’s get down to the data.
First of all, Energy Saving modes across the board are using less energy than the standard prefs.
In fact, the bigger 4K TV uses the least amount of power in this mode.
That’s because theater modes typically dim the display for dark rooms.
The smaller 1080p TVs don’t have major differences between Energy Saving and the higher power usage modes.
The difference is bigger on the 4K TV, which uses more power overall.
Does It Matter?
What can we take from this admittedly small sample size of data?
First of all, Energy Saving mode is clearly doing something.
That may not be super surprising—of course a dimmer display requires less energy.
Still, it is nice to know “Energy Saving Mode” is not an empty marketing term.
You’re essentially saving $7 a year for a slightly worse picture on your TV.
Are the energy and money savings enough to make that worth it?
That’s entirely up to you.
If you have a very large, ultra-high-definition TV, maybe it makes a big enough difference.
However, if you have that TV, you probablywant it to look the best it can.
Related:How to Get the Best Picture Quality from Your HDTV
