Samsung PN50A760 Plasma HDTV Review - Power Consumption

Power Consumption (4.88)
As with most Plasma televisions the Samsung PN50A760 is something of a power hog. Normally we want to set up a television for a brightness of 200 candelas per meter squared (cd/m2) for our power consumption test. As is also typical of plasma televisions the Samsung PN50A760 was unable to get this bright, instead it topped out at 165 cd/m2. Despite being less bright than the typical LCD television the Samsung PN50A760 still used a remarkable average of 524.7 Kilowatts per hour. This is two or even three times the amount of power used by many LCD televisions.

You can see how much this ends up costing you by looking at the table above. Using our calibrated settings, which we recommend for best picture quality, the annual cost of running the Samsung PN50A760 for the typical family runs over $100. Even with the brightness turned down to minimum the PN50A760's cost of operating is still higher than the average LCD television. The increased power consumption of plasma televisions is something to consider if you're trying to be green or if you are placing the HDTV in a relatively small room that could heat up very quickly.