TV sets so strong that they do not meet the new standards of the European Union. What has changed?

In recent years, it has introduced more and more restrictive energy consumption standards. For this reason, high-power vacuum cleaners or traditional light bulbs were withdrawn from sale. At the beginning of March, European officials took care of the monitors.

“Since March 2021, energy class labels have been changed throughout the European Union. The new labels have seven letters of the scale: from A to G, and many TVs and monitors are in the worst category – G. Meanwhile, from March 1 this year, the minimum standard has become class F. For example, a 65-inch TV can now consume a maximum of 112 in default mode, and a 75-inch TV can consume a maximum of 141 W.”

TV sets too strong for the European Union

The new standards meant that some TV models with a resolution of 4K and most 8K (OLED) TVs were excluded from sale, we read on the portal. Due to their standard and the functions they offer, they do not meet the standards that are in force in the EU.

However, the amended regulations do not cover TV sets that do not meet the standards, but went on sale before they were tightened. – This may be due to the fact that some sellers – wanting to get rid of them quickly – decide to sell them at reduced prices, so customers could benefit from this – says Michał Kanownik, president of the Cyfrowa Polska Association for Fakt.pl.

Kanownik explains that the problems with the new standards are due to the fact that the EU based them on assumptions from 2014-2017, when the technology for the most powerful TV sets was just being born. In Europe, 8K displays appeared only in 2018, and MicroLED in 2022. According to the president of the Digital Poland Association, for this reason, the EU requirements do not match the actual level of technology development.

Manufacturers will have to focus on energy consumption at the expense of quality

According to Michał Kanownik, new TV sets should not be worse than those models from before March 1. Producers have adapted to EU requirements. – Unfortunately, this affected the development of the capabilities of this equipment – says the president of the Cyfrowa Polska Association. “Instead of working on a better picture or sound, they need to focus on reducing consumption,” he adds.

Models before the changes to the regulations will be configured differently. For example, it has added a new energy-saving “Eco” mode at the expense of image quality and significantly reduced brightness. This mode will be set by default to comply with EU standards. Users will be able to turn it off in the settings, but they will receive a message about increased power consumption.

Kanowski also believes that the new standards also mean the need to put more work into production. This may be another factor – next to the more expensive components – that will make TVs and monitors more expensive.