Power surge can damage LCD and plasma televisions?

I've seen a fair few posts on television forums with people asking things like ''is it true turning an LCD television on at the mains damages it by a power surge'' and other bits an bobs like, should I leave my TV turned on to avoid it being damaged by a power surge. Like many things that people hear this is a small truth involved, but only slightly as its pretty rare and is just an urban myth rumour.

First things first, power surges do happen with all electrical products and not just LCD and Plasma televisions when they are turned on at the mains.

Secondly it is true that a power surge can damage electrical equipment, ever turned on a light bulb and its gone bang? That's normally because of the power surge, but unlike modern televisions the humble light bulb is a pretty basic product.

So we know power surges happen and we know they can cause damage, so why do I still think this is a load of rubbish? Well LCD and Plasma televisions are designed with the power surge in mind to avoid power surge damage (known as soft start). Occasionally this can fail and a power surge may break the odd LCD or Plasma TV, but it is very rare for this to happen (something else id more likely to break on modern televisions before this).

So leave your TV turned on or off at the mains? Well its up to you, but I personally turn mine off at the mains as it saves on my electricity bill and secondly my flat panel TV still works after a year of doing so, so yours more than likely will too! If you really are paranoid about a power surge damaging your television then leave it on, but just having your TV on standby will add to your monthly electricity bill. Alternatively you could always purchase a power surge protector which are pretty reasonable now days.

Blog by Toydestroyer