Energy and IT vendors devise ways to save electricity: On average, CRT monitors use 80 to 120 watts while switched on. LCDs are much more energy-efficient at 30 to 50 watts in use. Although LCDs still cost significantly more than CRTs, Hershberg said the Energy Star staff is fielding lots of agency questions about how to analyze the potential savings of a switch from a CRT to an LCD.

The large amount of waste heat from CRTs increases the need for cooling in offices with many computers, Hershberg said. He noted that Hitachi Data Systems Corp. in late July announced that it would no longer build CRTs.