Electricity bills expected to rise with uptake of 4K television sets

It’s Big Scary Numbers Time in the Express and Star who dutifully rehash the CEBR’s press release:

Two million homes are expected to own a 4K, or ultra high definition, TV by the end of this year, with that figure soaring to nine million by 2019, the upcoming British Gas Home Energy Report 2016 says.

However, the bonus of more pixels and therefore greater picture clarity requires a third more energy than an HD TV, with UK consumers predicted to pay an extra £82 million in electricity costs by 2019, the study, based on data analysed by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), claims.

First, I don’t like this “by 2019″ nonsense, that’s just adding together a random number of years, it is far better to express things as annual figures, and the relevant figure is the per-household (about £3) or per television one (£1?). So now we get down to it:

The report shows that the average household spent £14 in 2001 on powering its TV for a year, increasing to £20 in 2008. The cost then declined over the next seven years to £18, driven by more energy-efficient TVs.

£18 a year? I am pleasantly surprised it is that cheap. Does anybody even care about £8 a year, or £21 a year or £30 or whatever?