apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That's ridiculous. If they're going to regulate anything, it should be energy by size so that it's as optimized as possible.

That being said, we've got a 42" widescreen CRT that we use for video games and dvds. All of our "television" happens streaming online.

Making that - watching "TV" in real time over the internet - easier would also curb energy use.

I feel like if I wanted a screen larger than five feet, I'd get a projector. A TV that big would just be an eyesore.

A painful transition, to be sure, but major electrical appliances like ovens and refrigerators have been regulated like this since the 1970s. If anything this should have been done sooner, to avoid the backlash by a firmly entrenched industry. I think passing this kind of (good and necessary) regulation would have been a lot easier before the flat screen became so ubiquitous.

About time. The last thing I want to do is pay increased electric rates so some lard*** can watch Two And A Half Men re-runs on a 60" plasma jumbotron. Although I don't think they should be banned outright - just slap a tax on them large enough to fund the construction of the power plants they'll require. If that jacks up the cost of these behemoths to $10,000 a pop, tough.

The reality is, these sets are becoming more energy-efficient all the time. By the time this "ban" kicks in there will probably already be many large sets that are energy-efficient enough to be sold in California.

I agree that any set larger than about 42" is an eyesore, anyhow.

Interesting. What about extending these regulations to the 60-inch gas stoves and oversized refrigerators people install in their giant kitchens (plus the extra in the garage)?

We are in an energy and environmental crisis. It is entirely reasonable for the state of CA to step in this way. I am hoping that measures like this (as well as water saving mandates, such as SPRINKLER BANS) become more and more common. Afterall how many elderly people die annually due to lack of AC during heat waves?

Ah, I see I shouldn't have voted "other" before scrolling down and reading the update.
But one more thing to add is that the regulations only affect screens up to 58" in size. TVs with screens over 58" account for only 3% of TVs sold in California. I'm not sure if that's why they were left out of the legislation or not, haven't been able to find a stated reason on the web. I don't have a problem with regulating energy use, especially in a state that has had energy shortages for years that disrupt everyday life and good maintenance of social order (repeated and extended rolling blackouts can affect traffic lights, mass transit, hospitals, emergency call centers, telephone companies, etc.). But I think it should be across the board. KISS would be a good rule to follow, it's got to be easier and more cost effective to have one set of rules for all TVs rather than two sets of rules (and associated bureaucratic behavior) depending on size. And anyway, why do people who can afford ginormous TVs, that use more energy than smaller TVs anyway, also get a free pass to guzzle any amount of energy whatsoever? If the companies can be lazy and energy-inefficient then you know they will be.
The only concern I have on the other side of the issue is how the new flat panel TVs use energy. I recently read that the energy star ratings mean nothing, especially if you have an LCD (we do), because the companies turned the brightness and other setting way down before testing to get that star rating. Anyone watching TV with those settings wouldn't be able to see anything, and forget a good movie or gaming experience. Once the new regulations go in force, how will that affect the TVs' ability to display a picture that can be seen? Will our landfills fill up with discarded TVs because the technology isn't robust enough to handle the new regulations?

Not true. Most LCD's at least come with their back lights turned up strictly to sell off the show room. If you calibrate them you normally turn down the brightness a whole lot unless you need to fight something like direct sunlight.

Sorry, Kamikasetedibear, I guess I wasn't clear. I was referring to the tv manufacturers, not retail stores. Manufacturers are responsible for self-testing their products in order to earn Energy Star ratings. And to do so, they often rig the results by turning brightness levels way down. Unless a consumer is buying a floor model, they will likely be taking their tv out of the box and turning the levels back up to something that enables them to actually see what they're watching - thus doing away with the "energy savings" they thought they were getting.
I read this in an article a week or so ago and have been trying to find it again through searching at google's news page, but haven't been able to find it, sorry I can't provide a link to what I read. Here's something else though, that mentions the same issue although it's balanced by some good news, so maybe the article I read didn't have the whole story: http://www.edn.com/article/CA6660378.html .
NPR also has a similar article at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114051506 -
which also states that the Energy Dept doesn't require verification of the testing results supplied by companies before they are awarded the Energy Star rating. What the heck?!