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Size still matters when it comes to buying a flat-screen TV during a recession. And instead of using economic stimulus checks to buy new HDTV’s, consumers are spending that money to pay off the energy bills generated by their current home entertainment systems.

Those are just two of the findings released during the recent DisplaySearch TV Supply Chain Conference in San Diego. (DisplaySearch is the part of the NPD family of retail and consumer research groups that focuses on the flat panel display industry.) The big headline, however, is that those displays continue to sell even though most of those surveyed at the conference agree that we’re in a recession. The key statistic is a 53 percent year-over-year increase of LCD’s and plasma TV’s in North America, with 7.5 million units sold in the region in the first three months of 2008 (a 7 percent increase over industry projections).

DisplaySearch’s survey results echo what has been reported elsewhere; sales of smaller screen sizes are doing better than larger ones. A 32-inch screen is still the sweet spot for cost-conscious consumers.

The forthcoming holiday season will present a major challenge for retailers is the present economic trend continues, according to a majority of conference attendees. That usually means better deals for consumers, and those deals could remain even if the economy recovers over the next few years because panel manufacturers are adding more TV assembly lines. Excess capacity equals “downward pricing pressure,” and that means a shiny new HDTV in your home sometime soon.

Read [DisplaySearch]