Samsung Class Action Says Energy Star TVs Cheat Gov’t Energy Testing

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A putative class action lawsuit claims Samsung Energy Star televisions are secretly designed to automatically disable the features that make them energy-efficient.

Plaintiff Anthony Cali of New York alleges that Samsung Electronics America designs its televisions so that they qualify for Energy Star certification, then disables their energy-saving features once the user changes the picture settings.

According to the Samsung class action lawsuit, Energy Star is a voluntary program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designed to designate and promote energy-efficient products as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Televisions that are Energy Star-certified are on average 25 percent more energy efficient than other models, Cali says. For that reason, consumers may be willing to pay more for products with the Energy Star label – not just to reduce carbon emissions but also to save money on their home energy bill.

But Cali says there’s evidence Samsung has designed its Energy Star televisions to disable their energy-saving features when the user changes the picture settings.

This design element was allegedly revealed during testing conducted in 2015 by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ecos Research. Testing revealed that Samsung Energy Star televisions disabled key energy-saving features once the user changed the default settings.

“A few seemingly harmless clicks, without warning, can as much as double the cost to operate a TV over its 10-year lifetime, costing owners an extra $100 to $200 in energy bills,” Cali alleges.

The NRDC and Ecos concluded that Samsung Energy Star televisions and those made by other manufacturers were designed to exploit the television testing process used by the Department of Energy. According to Cali, the DOE measures power consumption by running a specially-designed 10-minute video on all televisions being tested.

That video is a collection of unusually short scenes that does not accurately mimic real-world video content, Cali says, and the DOE testing process does not account for changes in the television’s brightness settings.

Testers for the NRDC commented that the disabling features on Samsung Energy Star televisions were “the most extreme software design we encountered; no other manufacturer went this far to disable energy-saving features.”

Cali says he purchased a 40-inch Samsung Energy Star television in January 2016. He says that after adjusting the television’s aspect ratio, contrast and brightness, the resulting increase in the television’s power consumption resulted in a higher electric bill.

The plaintiff is proposing to represent a Class consisting of all persons in the U.S. who purchased a 2015 or 2016 Samsung Energy Star television with a screen size of 32 inches or greater.

He is asking the court to order Samsung to stop the allegedly unlawful practices complained of and to engage in a corrective advertising campaign. He also seeks an award of damages and disgorgement of all money gained through the allegedly deceptive marketing of Samsung Energy Star televisions, plus reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Representing the plaintiff is attorney Trinette G. Kent of Lemberg Law LLC.

The Samsung Energy Star Television Class Action Lawsuit is Anthony Cali v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-08495, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.