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Last week the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) accused LG, Samsung, and Vizio of exploiting flaws in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) method for testing TV energy use by designing TVs that disable energy-saving features when the viewer changes picture settings, significantly boosting the set’s energy consumption.

According to the NRDC report, the higher energy use culprits are: (1) deficiencies in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) method for testing the energy use of all new television models and steps by Samsung and LG that appear to take advantage of the DOE loopholes by designing TVs to get a better score; and (2) software design by those two plus Vizio to disable key energy-saving features, with little to no on-screen warning, if the consumer changes the default picture setting. The increased energy use is not reflected in the DOE test.

The report found that:

• The DOE energy-use test contains much shorter scenes and more frequent cuts between them than typical real-world content from sports, dramas, and news programs. The analysis showed higher energy use with the real-world clip than the one used in DOE testing. Almost all Samsung and LG TVs have a motion-detection dimming feature, which dims or briefly turns off the screen’s backlight when the content on display has rapid motion and frequent scene changes like in the test clip and some commercials and music videos. The DOE test results are used on the yellow EnergyGuide mandated to be displayed on every television so consumers can compare various models’ energy use, as well as by the ENERGY STAR® label program that indicates the more energy efficient products on the market.

• Samsung, LG, and Vizio also have designed their TVs to disable energy-saving features whenever users change the main picture setting, doing so with no or little adequate on-screen warning, which can boost energy use by 50 to 100 percent, or more. Manufacturers are likely designing their televisions this way as a means to increase the brightness of the television screen in an attempt to enhance perceived owner satisfaction, but the extra energy use is not accounted for in the DOE test.

• The latest version of ultra high-definition (UHD) TVs used approximately 30 to 50 percent more energy when playing content produced with High Dynamic Range (HDR) than conventional UHD content. In addition, the TV’s energy-saving features were automatically disabled whenever HDR content was played. HDR-capable TVs deliver bolder colors, brighter images, and higher contrast that will make the format increasingly popular but the test method does not include HDR content so the extra energy use is not reflected.

The NRDC said additional electricity consumed over the 10-year lifetimes of these TVs (with screens 32 inches and larger) could be equated with consumers paying an extra $1.2 billion on their utility bills.

LG and Samsung took issue with the findings of the NRDC, according to Broadcasting & Cable report, which quoted an LG spokesman as saying the company took "great exception to the assertion that LG is 'exploiting a loophole' in the government test procedure. LG has had a generally cordial and respectful relationship with the NRDC. We met with them and listened to their concerns. We raised our concerns about their methodology. We respectfully disagree with their conclusions, at least as far as LG is concerned."

B&C also reported that Samsung issued a statement that “firmly reject[ed] the accusation that we are misleading consumers” and noted that the company has been named an Energy Star Partner of the Year for six straight years. “The majority of users stay within the default viewing settings through the lifetime of their television,” the statement reads. “Furthermore, we strongly believe that consumers should always have the option to customize the viewing experience on their TV.”

Chris Calwell, principal of NRDC consultant Ecos Research, noted that "the global standard video clip on which the DOE test method is based is eight years old and needs a major overhaul. DOE should update its test method with more realistic video content, including video encoded in high dynamic range (HDR), to ensure that the resulting measurements are closer to what consumers would actually experience when using their TVs at home."

In a statement issued by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, said, “The TV settings used in the energy efficiency testing processes can be and are used in the real world, unless consumers want a different viewing experience. Any deception here comes only from the NRDC, and we hope its board and contributors begin an internal investigation into this misplaced hostility toward energy-efficient technology, blockage of science-based policy and personal vendetta by NRDC's so-called scientists."