How to lower your TV power consumption and save energy
Sony TVs come with various settings that can help you immediately make your TV more energy-efficient. Not only is it better for the environment, but also your power bill. Here are a few simple tips you can follow to save energy.
Note: The steps in this article might differ slightly or not be available depending on the TV model.
Enable the Power saving setting
If your TV has a Power-saving setting, you can set it to Off, Low, or High. The Low or High options will adjust the brightness and panel control to reduce your TV’s power consumption.
- Press the Quick Settings ( or ) button on the remote control.
- Select Settings → System → Power and energy.
- The next steps will depend on your TV menu options
- Select Power saving → Off / Low / High.
- Select Energy saver → Power saving → Off / Low / High.
Lower the brightness of your TV and adjust the contrast
If power-saving settings aren’t available on your TV, you can always manually lower the brightness and adjust the contrast.
Brightness ContrastSelect an energy-efficient Picture mode
If your TV comes with pre-set Picture modes (e.g., Standard, Vivid, Sport, Movie, Game, Cinema, Graphics, Photo), remember that some Picture modes use more energy than others.
- Standard: The most energy-conscious picture setting recommended for everyday use at home.
- Vivid: Ideal for daylight viewing with clear colors, contours, and enhanced contrast, Vivid is not recommended for long periods if you want to save energy.
Use the TV’s Ambient light sensor
Many of the newer Sony TV models have an Ambient light sensor setting. You can enable this setting to let your TV’s light sensor detect the amount of light in the room. That way, you can ensure the screen isn’t brighter than you need and save energy.
Turn off the screen when listening to music
Do you listen to Spotify or the radio on your TV? Chances are you’re interested in the music, not what’s displayed on the screen.
If your TV has the Picture Off setting, you can turn the TV screen off completely but still hear the sound.
- To turn off the screen, press the Quick Settings ( or ) button on your remote.
- Use the left or right arrows to find the Picture Off tile.
- To turn the screen back on, press any key on the remote.
If this setting isn’t available, we recommend you lower the brightness as much as possible when not using the screen.
Set a Sleep timer
If you have a habit of keeping your TV on until you fall asleep, consider setting a Sleep timer. With a sleep timer, the TV turns off automatically when it detects that it has been idle for a set time.
- On the remote control, press the Quick Settings ( or ) button.
- You can either use the left/right arrows on the remote until you find the Sleep timer tile, as shown in the screenshot below, or follow the steps below. Then select the desired time using the up/down arrows on the remote (e.g., 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 60 min, 90 min, or 120 min).
You can also set a similar timer function: Turn off TV after, or Auto turn-off, by following the steps below. The steps vary depending on your model:
- On the remote control, press the Quick Settings ( or ) button.
- Select System → Power and energy.
- The following steps will depend on your TV menu options:
- Select Auto turn-off → select Turn-off when inactive or Turn-off when watching → select the desired time (e.g., 15 min, 30 min, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h or 24h).
- Select Energy saver → Turn off TV after → select the desired time (e.g., 15 min, 30 min, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, or 24h).
Switch to standby
Switching your TV to standby mode means turning it off using the Power button on the remote control or the power button on the TV. In standby mode, the TV is still connected to the mains power but consumes very little energy.
Turn off the TV completely if not been used for a long time
If you don't use the TV for a long period (e.g., you’re away on holiday), we suggest you unplug the power cable when the TV is in standby mode. This step can save you energy, especially if various external devices are connected to your TV.
TIP: Installing a power strip that you can turn off with an on/off switch can make unplugging the TV and connected devices much more manageable.