How Much Does It Cost to Leave a TV on 24/7?

The financial impact of leaving a TV on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is not a fixed amount. It depends on the television’s specific power requirements and the prevailing electricity rates charged by utility providers. Understanding these factors helps consumers make informed decisions about their energy usage and household budgets.

Factors Affecting TV Power Consumption

A television’s electricity consumption is directly tied to its design and how it is used. Different screen technologies have varying power demands; older LCD TVs typically use more energy than modern LED models. For instance, a 55-inch LCD TV might consume around 180 watts, while a 55-inch LED TV often operates at a lower wattage, such as 80 watts. OLED televisions can also have a wide range of power consumption, from around 60 to 350 watts, depending on the model and content displayed.

Screen size plays a significant role, as larger displays generally require more power. A 65-inch television, for example, typically consumes more energy than a 40-inch model. User-controlled settings like screen brightness and picture modes also influence power draw. Higher brightness levels and certain picture enhancements, such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), can lead to increased electricity usage.

The age and energy efficiency rating of a television are important considerations. Newer televisions, especially those with an ENERGY STAR certification, are designed to be more energy-efficient than older models. An ENERGY STAR-rated TV can use approximately 25% less energy than a non-certified equivalent.

Understanding Electricity Bills and Rates

To estimate the cost of continuous television operation, it is necessary to understand how electricity is measured and billed. Utility companies typically charge for electricity based on kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is the standard unit of energy consumption. One kilowatt-hour represents the energy consumed by a 1,000-watt appliance operating for one hour.

Your specific electricity rate, found on your monthly utility bill, varies significantly across the United States by geographic location, local utility providers, and time of day. Some areas implement time-of-use rates, where electricity costs more during peak demand hours. Other regions might have tiered rates, where the cost per kWh increases once a certain consumption threshold is reached.

For simplicity in cost estimation, it is often practical to use an average residential rate. As of August 2025, the average residential electricity rate in the United States is approximately 17.47 cents per kWh. However, rates can range from around 11.88 cents per kWh in some states to over 41 cents per kWh. Checking your own utility bill for your exact rate provides the most precise figure for your calculations.

Calculating the Cost of Continuous TV Operation

Calculating the annual cost of leaving a television on 24/7 involves several steps. First, determine the wattage of your specific TV, which indicates its power consumption. This information can usually be found on a sticker on the back of the television, in the user manual, or on the manufacturer’s website. If only voltage and amperage are listed, multiply these values to find the wattage (Watts = Volts × Amps).

Once you have the wattage, convert it to kilowatts by dividing the wattage by 1,000. For instance, a 100-watt TV would be 0.1 kilowatts. Next, consider the total hours of continuous operation in a year, which is 8,760 hours (24 hours/day × 365 days/year). Finally, multiply the TV’s power consumption in kilowatts by the total hours of operation and then by your electricity rate per kWh. The formula is: (TV Wattage / 1000) × Hours of Operation × Electricity Rate per kWh = Total Cost.

For example, a 55-inch LED TV that consumes 80 watts, at the average electricity rate of 17.47 cents per kWh ($0.1747/kWh), would cost (80 W / 1000) × 8,760 hours × $0.1747/kWh = $122.37 annually. For a 200-watt 65-inch OLED TV, assuming a higher electricity rate of 25 cents per kWh ($0.25/kWh) to reflect regional variation, the annual cost would be (200 W / 1000) × 8,760 hours × $0.25/kWh = $438.00.