Can the consumer electronics industry really be green? Seriously, we’re gadget happy, we like bigger and better TVs and audio systems, and we love, love, love killer home theater systems with lots of high-powered, high-energy oomph.

So I was curious as to what types of green electronics—if any—I would find at the recent CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) Expo in Denver. As one of my fellow airport shuttle passengers said upon hearing of my plans, “Good luck on your quest.” That made me feel like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings, on some mission impossible.

In the first press conference I attended, Toshiba touted energy efficiency with its AutoView feature that adjusts brightness, color, color temperature and contrast on its higher-end Regza XV545 and XV535 Series ($1,400 to $2,800). Its AV500, AV502 and RV525 lines are also compliant with the new Energy Star 3.0 spec that has power efficiency requirements in the “on mode.”

Next up, Sony showed a bunch of stuff, including its Triluminous LCD line with LED backlighting, another big potential energy saver, though even the Sony big wigs couldn’t tell me by how much. Then Sharp showed its LCD line-up, including Energy Star-rated Aquos D85U and D65U series and the very cool looking Limited Edition LED-backlit 65-inch LC-65XS1U-S and 52-inch LC-52XS1U-S monitors with local dimming.

We were off to a surprisingly green start. The next day, I saw Mitsubishi’s LaserVue TV, which uses a laser to shine a light on a DLP chip and operates under 200 watts (I was told 135 watts, but that has yet to be confirmed). Very cool. Very nice. Great colors, too. Only you’ll pay $7K for the privilege.

Acoustic material maker Auralex announced its EcoTech acoustic paneling that uses 100 percent recycled material. And in what I thought was the best display of energy efficiency, LG showed its forthcoming 47LG70 LCD with LED backlighting as well as a meter that showed how much energy a TV was using in the superbright “torch” mode setting for retail stores (264 watts) versus a home “night” mode setting (147 watts).

Knoll Systems showed its GSZ67 multiroom audio controller and amplifier that uses an Eco-System circuit to cut power to unused channels, as well as its GSZ44, four-source, four-zone amp that will be Energy Star-qualified by idling with less that 1 watt.

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Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is Electronic House's managing editor. he has been writing about consumer electronics, homes and energy efficiency topics for two decades. He is also the co-founder of GreenTech Advocates.