3M Optical Film Cuts LCD TV Energy Consumption 20-30 Percent

June 14, 2006

Today 3M announced that one of its optical films could save as much as 57.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy for LCD TVs sold over the next five years. The film – Vikuiti Dual Brightness Enhancement Film D400 (DBEF D400) recycles light, reducing the number of light bulbs required and increasing the overall energy efficiency of LCD TVs 20 to 30 percent. "This is good news for the industry," says Andy Wong, VP of 3M's Optical's Systems Division. "Our films allow manufacturers to eliminate four bulbs or more in most LCD TVs, and make the TVs more energy efficient at the same time." With the market for LCD TVs growing as much as 70 percent per year, 315 million LCD TVs over 21 inches in size are expected to be sold worldwide between 2006 and 2010, according to estimates from DisplaySearch, a leading flat panel display (FPD) market research firm. By saving an average of 36.5 kWh per year for each LCD TV, 3M's film could potentially save 57.5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy over the life time* of the LCD TVs sold from 2006 to 2010. That is equal to the energy produced by 33 million barrels of oil or 23 million tons of coal. 3M makes a range of Vikuiti brightness enhancement films that maximize the light efficiency of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in computer monitors, notebook PCs, cell phones and PDAs as well as televisions. It developed the world's first brightness enhancement film for LCDs in 1993. Called Vikuiti Brightness Enhancement Film (BEF), the unique substrate enables bright, readable notebook computer screens that require less battery power to operate. For more information on Vikuiti films , go to vikuiti.com. * Calculated life time as 5 years of usage @ 4 hours per day.

Read More:
http://vikuiti.com