Model
Emerson PDVA-PM81851
Rank #7 means 6 of the 172 television models we track cost less to run each year; the 95th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 95% of those models.
What does the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 cost to run per year?
Few television models we track undercut the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 on cost; at about $6 a year it holds rank #7 of 172. Adjusted for its size, it is more efficient than 95% of television models we track, one of the strongest results in the whole class. At 17.15 W in on-mode, its power draw is a direct input into that running-cost figure.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Emerson PDVA-PM31561 at $5/yr runs a little cheaper and the Sansui LE-24T1 at $8/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A television typically stays in service for somewhere around 7 years; over that span, the Emerson PDVA-PM81851's $6/yr adds up to roughly $42 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Emerson PDVA-PM81851 normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $6/yr, here is what the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 costs about $60. That is roughly $290 less than the class median, which would run closer to $350 over the same ten years.
How the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 compares
The television class we track runs from $3 to $117 a year. At $6/yr, it runs about $29 a year cheaper than the class median of $35, and it is about $3 a year more than the cheapest television to run at $3.
What drives its running cost
At 18.49 in, the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 is a small television for its class, which spans 13.23 to 114.4 in with a median of 55 in, and smaller television models generally cost less to run for the same job, all else being equal. Its on-mode power draw of 17.15 W (the class spans 9.3 to 343.5 W) is the direct input into the running-cost figure, and the picture-brightness setting you choose is the single biggest lever you control over it day to day.
- On-mode brightness. The picture mode you leave a TV on, vivid or eco, moves its real-world wattage more than almost anything else you control directly.
- Screen size. A bigger panel needs more backlight or more emissive pixels to reach the same brightness, so energy use climbs with diagonal screen size across most panel technologies.
- Hours of use. ENERGY STAR's on-mode wattage figure assumes a standard number of hours per day; a TV left on longer than that, or used as ambient background noise, accumulates more of that hourly cost.
Common questions
Is the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 cheap to run?
Yes, relatively. At $6 a year it ranks #7 of 172 television models we track, in the cheaper part of its class to run.
How much does the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 cost per month?
Roughly $0.51/mo, spreading the $6/yr estimate evenly across twelve months at $0.1856/kWh. Actual monthly bills swing with your rate and usage pattern.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
We take the model's published annual energy use of 33 kWh from ENERGY STAR and multiply it by the US average residential electricity rate of $0.1856/kWh, giving about $6 a year. It is an electricity-only estimate and does not include purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Emerson PDVA-PM81851 for its size?
95th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Emerson PDVA-PM3156115.47 in | $5 |
| 5 | Clear Tunes PDVA-PM3156115.47 in | $5 |
| 4 | Clear Tunes CT-1385S13.25 in | $4 |
| 3 | Clear Tunes CT-1514S15.55 in | $4 |
| 2 | Emerson ATSC-PM8133113.23 in | $3 |
Source
ES_1117334_PDVA-PM81851_08232023174737_8262597View certified television listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Emerson and PDVA-PM81851 are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.