A television is a modest, steady load — and what it costs you comes down almost entirely to two things: screen size and daily hours. At 5 hours a day and ₹8 a unit, a 55-inch LED costs about ₹1,606 a year; a 32-inch about ₹584; a 65-inch about ₹2,190. Panel type (OLED vs LED) and standby barely move it. Here's the real math by size, plus what actually cuts the bill.
Last updated: 13 August 2026Sources: manufacturer / EU energy-label TV wattages, state ERC tariffs
In short: at 5 hours a day and ₹8/unit, a 32-inch LED TV costs about ₹584 a year, a 55-inch about ₹1,606, and a 65-inch about ₹2,190 — a 65-inch runs at nearly 4× a 32-inch. Size and hours drive the bill, not OLED-vs-LED. Standby is only about ₹35–140 a year, so don't bother unplugging — just lower the backlight (saves ~30–40%) and switch the TV fully off when no one's watching.
Key Numbers at a Glance
~₹1,606/yr
55-inch LED TV (5 h/day)
at ₹8/unit
~₹584/yr
32-inch LED TV — the cheapest to run
at ₹8/unit
~₹2,190/yr
65-inch LED TV — nearly 4× a 32-inch
bigger screen, more backlight
~₹35–140/yr
Standby (0.5–2W with quick-start)
negligible vs the on-hours
Size + hours
What actually drives the bill
far more than OLED-vs-LED
~30–40%
Cut by lowering backlight / brightness
the single biggest saving lever
Use this data
The full table as a CSV — watts and ₹/month and ₹/year by screen size, plus standby. Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
How to cite: PakkaPick, “TV Running Cost in India (2026),” pakkapick.in/tv-running-cost-india-2026 — CC BY 4.0
Typical 4K LED on-mode wattages, at 5 hours a day (~1825 hours a year) and ₹8/unit:
TV running cost per month and per year by screen size at ₹8 per unit, 5 hours a day.
Screen size
On-mode power
kWh/year
₹/month
₹/year
32-inch — HD / Full-HD LED
40 W
73
₹49
₹584
43-inch — Full-HD / 4K LED
75 W
137
₹91
₹1,095
50-inch — 4K LED
90 W
164
₹110
₹1,314
55-inch — 4K LED
110 W
201
₹134
₹1,606
65-inch — 4K LED
150 W
274
₹183
₹2,190
On-mode wattages are representative 4K LED figures (32-inch ~40W up to 65-inch ~150W) on the on-mode / EU energy-label basis; lab-measured averages at calibrated brightness can run lower, so treat these as an upper-ish guide — your set's exact power is on its box or EU energy label. Assumes 5 h/day — watch more and every number scales up in proportion.
OLED vs LED vs QLED — does the panel matter?
Less than you'd expect. What a TV draws depends mostly on how big and how bright the picture is, not the badge on the box.
LED / QLED TVs are lit by a backlight, so power tracks screen size and backlight brightness. OLEDpanels light each pixel individually, so their draw swings with content — a dark film can use less than an LED, a bright HDR scene more. Averaged over normal viewing, a large OLED usually sits modestly above an equivalent LED (often ~20–30%), but that gap is small next to the effect of choosing a 65-inch over a 43-inch, or watching 6 hours instead of 3. Bottom line:pick the size that fits your room and turn the backlight down — that decides the bill, not the panel type.
Standby costs almost nothing — the on-hours do
A modern TV draws roughly 0.5–2W on standby (up to ~2W with quick-start / always-connected on) — about ₹35–140 a year even left on standby around the clock. So unplugging the TV overnight saves only a few rupees.
The real cost is the on-hours: a 55-inch drawing ~110W while you watch costs far more than its standby ever will. The two habits that actually save: switch the TV fully off when no one is watching (rather than leaving it playing to an empty room), and lower the backlightor use the eco / ambient-light mode — on an LED/QLED set the backlight is most of the power, so turning it down can cut roughly 30–40%with little visible loss indoors. Chasing the standby draw isn't worth it.
How your state's tariff changes it
A 55-inch LED TV (110W, ~201 kWh/year) costs this much a year to run across different state tariffs:
Annual running cost of a 55-inch LED TV across Indian state tariffs.
State (example city)
Tariff (₹/unit)
55-inch TV ₹/year
Gujarat (Ahmedabad)
₹5.20
₹1,044
Delhi
₹8.00
₹1,606
West Bengal (Kolkata)
₹9.22
₹1,851
Tamil Nadu (Chennai)
₹11.55
₹2,319
Maharashtra (Mumbai)
₹17.68
₹3,549
Top-slab domestic energy charges from FY2025-26 state ERC tariff orders. Full detail on our running cost by state page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a TV cost to run in India?
It depends mostly on screen size and how many hours a day it is on. At 5 hours a day and ₹8 a unit, a 32-inch LED TV (~40W) costs about ₹584 a year, a 43-inch (~75W) about ₹1,095, a 55-inch (~110W) about ₹1,606, and a 65-inch (~150W) about ₹2,190. Watch more hours or pay a higher tariff and every figure scales up. A TV is a modest, steady load — cheaper to run than an AC or geyser, but more than a fan or a few LED bulbs.
Does a bigger TV use more electricity?
Yes — noticeably. A larger panel has more backlight (LED/QLED) or more lit pixels (OLED) to drive, so power rises with screen area. A 65-inch TV typically draws close to four times as much as a 32-inch (about 150W vs 40W), which is roughly ₹2,190 vs ₹584 a year at 5 hours a day. Screen size and daily hours are the two biggest levers on a TV’s running cost — far bigger than the choice of panel technology.
Do OLED TVs use more power than LED?
On average, modestly higher (often around 20–30%) — but it is content-dependent, and smaller than most people think. OLED power depends on how bright the picture is: a dark film can draw less than an LED, while a bright HDR scene draws more. Across mixed viewing, a large OLED is usually somewhat higher than an equivalent LED at the same size, but the difference is far smaller than the effect of size and hours. Pick the size that suits your room and control brightness — that matters more for the bill than LED-vs-OLED.
How much does a TV cost on standby?
Almost nothing. Modern TVs draw roughly 0.5–2W in standby (up to ~2W with quick-start / always-connected on), which is about ₹35–140 a year even left on standby 24×7 — so unplugging a TV overnight saves only a few rupees. The real cost is the on-hours: a 55-inch drawing ~110W while you watch costs far more than the standby ever will. If you want to cut a TV’s bill, switch it fully off when no one is watching (rather than leaving it playing to an empty room) and lower the backlight — don’t worry about the standby draw.
How can I reduce my TV’s electricity bill?
The single biggest lever is the backlight/brightness setting — on an LED or QLED TV the backlight is most of the power, so turning it down (or enabling the ambient-light/eco sensor) can cut roughly 30–40% with little visible loss indoors. Beyond that: turn the TV fully off when no one is watching instead of leaving it on in the background, choose a size that fits the room rather than oversizing, and use the energy/eco picture mode. Standby is already negligible, so it is not worth chasing.
Sources & Methodology
Running cost = rated on-mode watts × hours × ₹/unit; annual = watts/1000 × 5 h/day × 365 days × ₹8. Standby ≈ 0.5–2W × 24 h × 365 days × ₹8 (₹35–140/year). Wattages are representative on-mode ratings by size; the ₹8/unit and state tariffs match PakkaPick's other electricity-cost pages.
TV wattages — manufacturer specs and EU energy-label on-mode power for 4K LED sets: ~40W (32-inch), ~75W (43-inch), ~90W (50-inch), ~110W (55-inch), ~150W (65-inch). OLED/large QLED vary with picture brightness.
Standby — modern TVs draw ~0.5–2W in standby (EU Ecodesign: ≤0.5W passive, ≤2W networked/quick-start), so roughly ₹35–140/year; on-mode power dominates the annual cost.
State Electricity Regulatory Commissions — top-slab domestic tariff orders 2025-26; see our running cost by state page.
Figures are estimates for guidance: actual cost depends on your TV's wattage, brightness setting, content and hours of use, and your slab tariff. This page contains no product prices.
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