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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.
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59 thoughts onSamsung Class Action Says Energy Star TVs Cheat Gov’t Energy Testing
We have a Samsung TV and wonder how to join the class action suit?
I have 2, my power bill has gone up, but not 100.00 to 200.00….. I would like to be included. Thank u
I wonder why it has to be 32 inches? my mom could participate in this if she’d gotten a bigger tv a couple mts ago instead of a 24″! im sure the settings are the same for it as all the rest tho and I doubt there’s that much diff in power consumption btwn 8 inches!
I bought one also last yr Black Friday and my electric bill jumped 40.00 per month
How do I join this lawsuit
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
Hope you guys consider going further back not just 2015 and 16 mine is about 2010 and it gets very very warm to the touch you can just feel the heat pouring off of it it makes me wonder like I said in the post earlier with the way my electrical bills are it really makes me wonder
We have 3 Samsung TV’s and yes each 1 bigger than the other.
There has been a small jump yes in dollars but not in the hundreds, something is going on in your household if that happens. I would consider contacting an electrician.
So my electric bill is it least 350 a month in a 1600 square foot Ranch it’s just the two of us but we also have two dogs and I do leave the cartoons on during the day for them and you can feel the heat just coming off the TV I’m not saying it’s all the TV I think there’s other issues I’m sure but I’ve had electricians out and gone through my entire house I’ve had the electric company out to go over the meters and the lines and nobody can find the answers my Samsung is a few years older but was still rated energy star when we bought it I’m not sure what to do at this point we’ve already paid over 7,000 this year to the electric company and the years not even up I’ll take any suggestions and no I’m not venturing in any growing Hobbies because that was the first thing the Electric company asked and like I told them one if I was I’d be able to pay the bill and two if I was I never would have called the state requesting an investigation
Mine gets hot to
I bought 2 55″ Samsung energy efficient televisions from Best Buy last year. How do I find out if I qualify to become a plaintiff?
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
You can contact class counsel with any questions about joining the case as a plaintiff. Current counsel is listed at the bottom of the article and can be Googled for contact information.
I purchased a 55″ Smart 3D HD Oct. 2011 when I relocated to Ohio, is it covered ?
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. The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement.
I bought a 53 inch Samsung in part because of energy efficiency and noticed my power bill a little higher, I thought it was because I have a larger tv. Now I know I need to watch a dark picture, this sucks. How do we get these companies to tell the truth?