U.S. Energy Department, the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient
Economy (ACEEE), the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), the
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® and the National
Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced
non-regulatory energy efficiency standards for pay-TV set-top boxes that
will result in significant energy savings for more than 90 million U.S.
homes. These new standards – developed through a non-regulatory
agreement between the pay-TV industry, the consumer electronics industry
and energy efficiency advocates – will improve set-top box efficiency
by 10 to 45 percent (depending on box type) by 2017, and are expected to
save more than $1 billion on consumer energy bills annually.
The set-top box efficiency standards announced today will ultimately
save enough electricity each year to power 700,000 homes. The standards
will also avoid more than five million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions each year. As consumer demand for digital video recorders and
high-definition set-top boxes grows, actual consumer savings are likely
to be even greater. The introduction of whole-home devices will also
further reduce the overall energy footprint.“These energy efficiency standards reflect a collaborative approach
among the Energy Department, the pay-TV industry and energy efficiency
groups – building on more than three decades of common-sense efficiency
standards that are saving American families and businesses hundreds of
billions of dollars,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The set-top
box efficiency standards will save families money by saving energy,
while delivering high quality appliances for consumers that keep pace
with technological innovation.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said: “In 2011, I urged the CEOs
of every major television service provider to work together to
introduce more energy efficient set-top boxes. At the time, set-top
boxes were costing Americans $3 billion in electricity charges each
year—with $2 billion wasted when televisions were not being used.
Today’s voluntary announcement demonstrates the television industry took
this matter seriously, and I commend industry and efficiency advocates
for agreeing to make 90 percent of all set-top boxes as efficient as
today’s most energy efficient boxes by 2017. This will cut box energy
consumption by 10-45 percent and save consumers $1 billion per year. To
put that in perspective, this amount of energy savings would eliminate
the need for three power plants and prevent 5 million tons of C02
emissions per year. This is a big win for nearly every American who
pays a monthly television bill because experts tell me that federal
standards could not have produced this much financial and energy savings
by 2017. This agreement lasts until 2017, and I intend to monitor the
situation carefully to ensure the industry remains committed to building
on today’s substantial progress in future years.”
“This historic agreement promises to put $1 billion back in the
pockets of U.S. consumers every year because the new set-top boxes will
use less energy,” according to Noah Horowitz, Senior Scientist at the
NRDC. “We appreciate the industry’s renewed commitment toward making
the devices that bring pay TV into 90 million-plus U.S. homes more
efficient and look forward to working together to reduce their future
energy use.”A set-top box is a device combining hardware components with software
programming to receive television and related services from cable,
satellite, broadband or local networks. The non-regulatory agreement
provides a framework for the Energy Department, pay-TV industry and
energy efficiency advocates to work together on efficient,
high-performing set-top boxes that keep pace with technological
improvements, achieving what would otherwise be done through regulatory
standards and test procedures.
“As Americans increasingly rely on more electronic devices and
gadgets, managing energy consumption is both an environmental and
economic priority for consumers and industry alike,” said Michael
Powell, President and CEO of NCTA. “The cable industry is working hard
to improve the overall consumer experience and we are proud to develop
solutions that will reduce our energy footprint and result in real
energy savings for millions of consumers.”
“The set-top box is an integral part of the broad, diverse, and
often-changing entertainment experience in most American households,”
said Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA. “The expanded voluntary
set-top box energy conservation agreement accommodates both rapid
evolution and energy efficiency for this product category and
demonstrates our industry’s commitment in leading the way to provide
consumers with products that reduce energy consumption and save money.”The agreement, which runs through 2017, covers all types of set-top
boxes from pay-TV providers, including cable, satellite and telephone
companies. The agreement also requires the pay-TV industry to publicly
report model-specific set-top box energy use and requires an annual
audit of service providers by an independent auditor to ensure boxes are
performing at the efficiency levels specified in the agreement. The
Energy Department also retains its authority to test set-top boxes under
the ENERGY STAR ® verification program, which provides another verification tool to measure the efficiency of set-top boxes.
Agreement signatories include pay-TV providers (listed according to
number of customers) Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable,
AT&T, Verizon, Cox Communications, Charter Communications,
Cablevision Systems Corp., Bright House Networks and CenturyLink; and
manufacturers Cisco, ARRIS (including Motorola), and EchoStar
Technologies. Energy efficiency advocates Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE), and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) are also
signatories to the agreement.This non-regulatory agreement between the pay-TV industry and energy
efficiency advocates supports the Energy Department’s broader efforts to
help families save money by increasing the energy efficiency of
residential and commercial appliances and products. Under the Obama
Administration, the Department has finalized new efficiency standards
for more than 30 household and commercial products, which are estimated
to save consumers a total of more than $400 billion through 2030.
To build on this progress, the Administration has set a new goal:
Efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings set in the
first and second terms combined will reduce carbon pollution by at least
three billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030 – equivalent to nearly
one-half of the carbon pollution from the entire U.S. energy sector for
one year.
for more information please visit DOE
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