CRT vs. LCD for heat and and power consumption

[Lucky]

OK, I've tried to get an asnwer from folks in a couple other forums here but I cant get a firm answer.

The main working space of my apartment that I keep AC'ed is ~450 sq. feet. Cooling this area are 3 5000K BTU window AC's. The problem is that because I have so many heat outputting devices in this area, my AC is basically getting worthless. Between 2 TV's, 3 monitors, 6 computers, a mini-fridge, and assorted other small appliances, my AC can barely keep up. I can tell most of this comes from my monitors + computers. I cant do too much about the computers, they are as cool-running as I can get them.

The monitors, however, might be a different story. When on they are fairly hot to the touch, and I suspect they put out a more heat than my CPU's do. Do LCD's offer any advantage over CRT's in this aspect? Also, because every single appliance in this working area is on one circuit (yes, :Q ) I'm frequently having power problems. Would LCD's significantly cut down the power consumption compared to my 15", 17", and 19"?

Please, no suggestions to turn them off or use a KVM. I need to run the computers concurrently and have multiple monitors, and I already use a KVM to share one of the monitors with 3 of the computers.

 

[Viper GTS]

From a quick Google search it looks like they draw roughly 1/2 the power that a CRT does. 50-60 watts per monitor would add up over the number of monitors you have running.

Actually, it may be significantly more than that.. I'm looking for more concrete info now, but this might help you.

It's obviously going to vary a lot by model, look up spec sheets on the monitors you want to replace & compare them with the LCD's you'd be buying.

Viper GTS

 

[Lucky]

> I did the calculations a few months ago and it's actually a saving of
> around 100W (my 17" Iiyama claims to take 130W, 15" LCDs seem to take
> around 30W). I used this to show that replacing CRTs with LCDs purely to
> lower power bills wasn't yet economic.

Hmm...I wonder how much, say, 300w of savings would translate to in terms of heat output and how it would affect the temps in my apt. thanks for the link.

 

[mchammer187]

i can definitely say it is a lot in terms of heat

probably not in power consumption though to make it worth it anyway

monitors put out a ton of heat definitely more than a PC unless you are running some 2000 GB scusi raid machine or something

i think the heat output is sufficient to warrant an LCD over a CRT alone especially if you are in a hot environment

 

[Justin218]

THe difference is huge in heat. I used to have a CRT and my room was always hot. Now that I have an LCD it's much better in here.

 

[MWink]

To those of you saying CRT's put out more heat than your computer, you have to realize CRT's are NOT actively cooled like your computer. Yes monitors get hot but they don't have fans to blow away the heat. Yes they do put out a bit of heat but I don't know how it compares to what the computer puts out. (Why don't you take off your CPU fan and see how hot the heat sink gets? j/k )

As for power, CRT's use about 75-100W (for 15-19" CRT's). I don't know much about desktop LCD's but I know the LCD's on laptops (which are just as good IMO) use very little power. When I turn the LCD on my laptop (15" Samsung) off my UPS's load reading does not change (which means it uses very little power). I would guess a desktop LCD would use about maybe 10-20W. IMO the power savings would be pretty significant.

 

[Lucky]

^

 

[Lucky]

OK, found something. If anyone wants to know, as I did, how computers and monitors would affect the cooling performance in your residence, first go here. Enter in how many watts you are using at the bottom (One computer + monitor= ~175-250 watts. Take the converted BTU/hr and look here. that will tell you how much increase in cooling would be required, or conversly how much your computers and monitors are sucking in cooling power from your current air conditioners.

Using their rough calculations, a computer plus monitor (using the high estimate) sucks about 700 BTU's from your cooling power. Using an LCD monitor vs. a CRT would appear to reduce about 250 BTU. So applying that to 3 monitors, I'd be saving about 750 BTU/hr by switching. In terms of heat output and cost effectiveness in neutralizing it, it makes more sense to simply buy another air condioner or upgrade the one you have instead of spending $1K-2K for all LCD's.

Your thoughts?

 

[CigarSmokedByClinton]

It depends on your electric bill too, I guess. Over the long haul the electric bill would be higher than new LCD's when you take into account purchasing and running an extra A/C and the price you could get selling the CRT's. Also take into account the pollution created by generating electricity, I feel that it is in our best interest to minimize the electricity used.

Besides, LCD's are cooler (litterally and figuratively )

-Cost of LCDs
+Sell CRT's
+Smaller Elec bill
+don't have to buy new A/C and run it

my $0.02