If you’re serious about getting an energy-efficient TV, you may want to look at Sony’s Bravia VE-5 line of LCDs when they become available this summer.

Sony seems to be making a hard push in energy efficiency this year, and the company is really excited about this line of LCDs that uses a different form of fluorescent backlighting and can cut power consumption by 40 percent when compared to conventional LCD models, Sony says.

I recently had a chance to discuss the details of the line’s features with Nate Kraft, Sony’s senior marketing manager for the TV group.

The VE-5 line, which will include 52-inch KDL-52VE5, the 46-inch KDL-46VE5 and the 40-inch KDL-40VE5, will be the first to incorporate Sony’s micro-tubular Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL) technology.

What the heck is that, you ask? As Sony tells me, HCFL backlighting is configured of a light commonly used in fluorescent lamps, and achieves greater light-emitting efficiency than conventional CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlighting. That means enhanced brightness with lower power consumption. HCFLs were not previously used for TV backlighting because the lamps could not be made small enough, so Sony developed micro-tubular HCFLs that resemble a double-helix and can fit in thin flat-panel TVs.

OK, bright backlight, high efficiency. Sounds great, But why not use LEDs and get local dimming with great blacks as well? Aren’t LEDs the rage in new efficient, super-cool TVs? Sony will still offer LED-backlit models, Kraft says, “But right now, LED TV is very expensive. I don’t know if the price will come down that rapidly, and I don’t think they’ll catch up to traditional LCDs [in price] for some time.”

The VE-5s have some other cool energy-saving features, including a presence sensor that turns the backlight of the TV off if it doesn’t sense someone in a room for a certain amount of time. Users can set the time for the sensor to detect no motion to five, 30 or 60 minutes, and if no motion is detected, the backlight will turn off after another 30 minutes.

Serious greenies will also love the zero-watt Energy Saving Switch that cuts all power to the TV, eliminating even the small amount of standby power the set consumes. The switch is manual and located in the bottom right-hand corner. And it has to be manual, because when all power is cut to the TV, the remote sensor will also shut off.

Considering that the sets will be Energy Star-complaint, meaning that they will only consume a limited amount of power when on and not exceed one watt in standby power, saving a trickle of energy with a manual switch may not seem like such a big deal. But as Kraft says, “all these small, incremental things can add up. There are customers who are very green and concerned about the environment, but [the zero-energy switch] may not be for everyone.”

Just because the VE-5 line is designed to appeal to those who want to maximize energy efficiency doesn’t mean it can meet high performance standards, Kraft says,

“Obviously, picture performance comes first. Even the most granola of our customers don’t want a TV that has a terrible picture,” he says. “Especially as we get into the teeth of the recessionary period, people will probably find that buying an energy efficient TV will be a good choice. The trade-offs [of owning an energy-efficient TV] are becoming less or non-existent. Over a 5 to 10 years of owning a TV, the green features pay for themselves.”

Sony has not released pricing on the VE-5 models.

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.