Nov. 4--Californians are nearly outnumbered by their televisions.

Thirty-five million sets entertain us five hours a day.

Add the numbers up, and TVs probably account for a large portion of your household energy use -- up to 10 percent, including accessories such as DVD players, game consoles and digital recorders.

That's the justification for a new rule, which, if approved later this month by the California Energy Commission, would require televisions sold in the state to be 33 percent more energy efficient by 2011, and 49 percent more efficient by 2013. For now, only televisions 58 inches and smaller are affected.

The commission was scheduled to decide Tuesday but delayed the issue until Nov. 18.

Contrary to some reports, the state is not banning flat-screen TVs. Some manufacturers, though, are fighting the proposal. They warn that if desired models are no longer available here, people will buy their TVs online or out-of-state, costing California thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.

But how much is this going to cost me?

Nothing, according to the commission. The government says that consumers will save $50 to $250 in energy costs over the life of a single, energy-efficient television -- or $18 to $30 a year.

Over the first 10 years, Californians would save $8.1 billion. The energy savings would eliminate the need to build a $615 million power plant.

As for the cost of a new flat-screen at the store, there are more than 1,000 TV models on the market that already meet the 2011 standard and are no more expensive than inefficient models, the commission says. The quality of the picture on these televisions is just as good.

What's the catch?

The industry group Californians for Smart Energy cites its own economic analysis that the rule would shift business out of state, eliminating 4,600 jobs -- such as sales, distribution and installation -- and costing California $50 million a year in tax revenue.

"Do you really want unelected bureaucrats telling you what kind of TVs you're allowed to buy?" the group asks on its Web site.

The commission contests these numbers.

"We would not propose a television-efficiency standard if we thought there was any actual evidence in the record to indicate that it would hurt the California economy or cost jobs," Commissioner Julia Levin said at an October meeting.

Why TVs?

Advocates say the television is one of the biggest household appliances that remains unregulated.

Thirty years ago, when energy-efficiency requirements were slapped on refrigerators, there was similar opposition. But refrigerators today come in many varieties, are larger and use one-fourth the energy as older models.

Overall, despite all of our new gadgets and gizmos, energy use per capita has remained constant for three decades, an accomplishment for which the state credits energy standards.

That said, today's flat-screen televisions demand more juice than the old tube TVs. So as people upgrade to flat screens, energy demand grows.

Bernadette Del Chiaro, an advocate with Environment California, called high-definition TVs the "Hummers of the home."

"It is high time that the state of California take on the Fred Flintstones of the TV industry and bring this technology into the 21st century," she said.

Industry officials say that "regulation stifles innovation" and that price and features are a higher priority for consumers than energy savings. Advances in television technology have been rapid.

The Los Angeles Times editorialized: "We don't see why the state should impose performance standards on an industry that is making so much progress on its own."

What about my old TV?

The rule covers only new TVs sold in 2011 and beyond. You can hang onto that relic console TV as long as you like.

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