Why the screen itself is the biggest lever
Every TV sold in Australia is tested the same way under the mandatory GEMS television standard, AS/NZS 62087.2.2:2011, the same on-mode power measurement behind the star rating on the box and the registry-median wattage our calculator already uses. Pull that figure across the size range and the pattern is stark: a 32-inch tests at 31 W, a 75-inch at 175 W, a 5.6× gap for roughly doubling the diagonal measurement. That’s close to what doubling the screen’s actual AREA would predict (a 75-inch panel covers about 5.5 times the surface of a 32-inch one), which is the physical reason behind it: a bigger panel needs more backlight to reach the same brightness across more glass, so wattage tracks area more closely than it tracks the inch number printed on the box.
Picture mode and panel type both move the bill too, our companion guides on picture mode and LED vs OLED cover them, but neither comes close to this. Switching Vivid to Filmmaker mode was worth about 37% on one television tested. LED against OLED at the same size barely moved the bill either way. Stepping from a 32-inch to a 75-inch multiplies the wattage by 5.6.
What this costs, state by state
Registry-median wattage at four of the calculator's own headline sizes, run at its default of 4 hours a night.
| State | Rate | 32-inch (31 W) | 55-inch (92 W) | 65-inch (120 W) | 75-inch (175 W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.4¢ | $14.66 | $43.52 | $56.76 | $82.78 |
| Victoria | 29.8¢ | $13.49 | $40.03 | $52.21 | $76.14 |
| Queensland | 31.2¢ | $14.12 | $41.91 | $54.66 | $79.72 |
| South Australia | 38.1¢ | $17.24 | $51.18 | $66.75 | $97.35 |
| Western Australia | 33.6¢ | $15.21 | $45.13 | $58.87 | $85.85 |
| Tasmania | 28.9¢ | $13.08 | $38.82 | $50.63 | $73.84 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 27.4¢ | $12.40 | $36.80 | $48.00 | $70.01 |
| Northern Territory | 31.7¢ | $14.35 | $42.58 | $55.54 | $80.99 |
Reference rates for 2026–27. Your row is highlighted once you set your location.
Size sets the range. The model you pick still matters inside it
A direct query of the same government registration database, run for this guide, found 679 registered 65-inch LED televisions. The cheapest of them, an LG, is tested at 50 W. The most expensive, a Samsung Neo QLED 8K model, is tested at 310 W, 6.2× more, entirely within the one nominal size. At the calculator’s own 4-hours-a-night default that’s the difference between about $24 a year in NSW and $147, a bigger gap in dollar terms than stepping all the way from 55 inches up to 75. The registry-median 120 W our calculator uses sits well inside that range, not at either end, so most 65-inch buyers land nowhere near the extreme. The lesson isn’t that 65-inch is a trap. It’s that a flagship 8K or very-high-brightness panel can cost as much extra as jumping up a size class or two, so it’s worth checking a specific model’s own registered wattage, search it in the calculator below, rather than assuming every TV wearing the same inch number costs the same to run.
None of this is large money next to a typical power bill. Even the priciest ordinary size here, 75 inches, runs about $70 to $97 a year depending on your state, real, but a fraction of what heating, cooling and hot water cost the same household. Our guide to what uses the most electricity at home ranks where a TV actually sits against the rest of the house.
Common questions
How much more does a 75-inch TV cost to run than a 55-inch?
About $33 to $46 a year depending on your state, using both sizes' registry-median wattage at this site's 4-hours-a-night default. NSW sits roughly in the middle of that range, at about $39.
Does a bigger screen always cost more to run?
On the registry median, yes, screen size is the strongest single driver of a TV's running cost on this site's own pages. It isn't absolute, though: a very high-end 65-inch model can draw more than an ordinary 75-inch one, see the within-size spread above, so the size on the box is a strong guide, not a guarantee.
Is screen size a bigger factor than picture mode or panel type?
Yes, by a wide margin. Switching picture mode was worth about 37% on the same television in our companion guide on picture mode. LED against OLED at matching sizes barely moved the bill either way, per our LED vs OLED guide. Going from 32 inches to 75 multiplies the wattage by 5.6, well past either of those.
How do I check what my own TV actually draws?
Search the exact model in our TV running cost calculator, linked below. It pulls the real tested figure from the same government registry this guide uses, rather than relying on a size-band median.
Is a bigger TV worth it despite the higher running cost?
On electricity alone, yes for most households: even 75 inches runs under $100 a year in every state. It's a real but modest line item next to heating, cooling and hot water, which our guide to what uses the most electricity at home ranks in full.
Sources
Registry-median wattage by screen size, the same figures our TV running cost calculator’s own size picker uses: the energyrating.gov.au registration database (July 2026 snapshot). Within-65-inch minimum and maximum wattage: a direct query of the same database, filtered to 65-inch LED models, run for this guide. GEMS television on-mode power test methodology: Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Television) Determination 2012, AS/NZS 62087.2.2:2011 clause 2. Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state’s regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. All fetched July 2026.