The third-generation iPad is many great things, but it’s definitely NOT a drain on your electric bill!

A new study finds that it costs less to recharge a fully-drained Retina Display-toting iPad every other day for a year than it does to run a 60-watt compact fluorescent light bulb continuously over the same period. The cost to charge the iPad is $1.36, the study found.

According to a study from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent non-profit organization focusing on electricity research and development, Apple’s new iPad and devices like it could help lower the high power consumption seen as a result of the Information Age, reports the Associated Press.

As smartphones and tablets become more popular and accessible, the EPRI wondered if the flood of new devices was having a negative impact on power consumption. What the group found was that charging a device once every other day from full discharge costs mere pennies per day, a dramatic reduction from large electronics like HDTVs and PCs.

Testing pitted a variety of Apple’s mobile products including the overwhelmingly popular iPad, which has sold over 67 million copies as of April, against other household appliances to project energy use in a “post-PC” era.

“As information technologies continue to change rapidly we see important implications for energy consumption,” said EPRI Vice President of Power Delivery and Utilization Mark McGranaghan. “These results raise important questions about how the shifting reliance from desktop to laptop to mobile devices will change energy use and electricity requirements for the information age. “

Despite recording the highest temperature readings among a series of lab testers seeking to find if the new iPad was really running hotter than the previous model, or other similar tablets or notebooks, Consumer Reports, says it “didn’t find the temperatures to be cause for concern.”

The group has listed the new iPad as a “recommended” product, and describes it among 9-12 inch tablets as the only one achieving an “excellent” rating, saying the “high-resolution screen of the new iPad establishes a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we’ve ever seen on a tablet display

“Performance on the new iPad ($500 to $830) was superb in virtually every other way as well,” the site states. “The 5-megapixel camera took very good photos. Verizon’s 4G network yielded very fast, dependable connectivity to a 4G-compatible version of the iPad in our informal tests. And despite the energy-intensive display and graphics, the iPad still has longer battery life than all other tablets.”

Highlighting the “standout performance of the new iPad’s screen,” the site stated, “we have recalibrated our standard of excellence for tablet screens. The iPad alone now receives an excellent overall score for display quality.

“A number of current models, including the iPad 2 (which remains on sale and is a fine performer), that received excellent scores under the past standard will now be adjusted to receive very good scores overall. Likewise, some models that received good scores may also be adjusted downward, and some overall scores have changed slightly.”

A new report by the research group ChangeWave finds that 98 percent of new iPad buyers say they are satisfied with their purchase, a one percentage point increase over iPad2. Significantly more users are now reporting that they are “very satisfied,” according to the report.

82 percent report being “very satisfied” with the new Retina Display iPad model, a jump over last year’s iPad 2, where 74 percent of users responded similarly.

Among the features of the new iPad that impress users were its high resolution Retina Display, which 75 percent of users listed in their top three favorite features, along with 22 percent liking its long battery life, 21 percent calling out its 4G LTE data service option, 20 percent citing speed, 18 percent its newly improved camera, and 13 percent citing the wide range of apps available.

You’ve got that shiny new iPad.  Now you’re wondering how to transfer your data from your old iPad to your new iPad.

It’s easy, even if you don’t have an iCloud account.

To start, plug in your iPad (or iPhone) and open iTunes. Then sync your device and back it up. Next you will need to connect your new device. When a screen pops up for the device, click “Restore From Backup.”

That’s it!