[August 09, 2016]

Consumers Saved $646 Million in 2015 from Energy Efficient Set-Top Boxes

Consumers saved approximately $646 million in energy costs in 2015 as a result of the award-winning voluntary set-top box energy conservation agreement among pay-TV providers, consumer technology manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates. A new report by independent auditor D+R International found that more than 3.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions were prevented in 2015 through a 15.94 percent reduction in national energy consumption from set-top boxes, even as their functionality increased.

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Over the past three years of the Voluntary Agreement, the independent auditor found that consumers have saved nearly $1.2 billion in energy costs and avoided 6.5 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions. The energy saved over three years is the equivalent of the energy used by all of the homes in both Washington, DC, and San Francisco combined, for one year. In addition, energy savings have increased over the past three years, doubling in 2014 and then increasing by another 82 percent in 2015. The Voluntary Agreement was recently named "Project of the Year" by Environmental Leader, a leading daily trade publication covering energy, environmental and sustainability news.

"The pay TV industry and its suppliers are beginning to make a real dent in the high energy use of cable, satellite and telephone set-top boxes. Thanks to improved efficiency, we've seen more than $1 billion in consumer savings. While there's still much more to do, that's real progress," said Noah Horowitz, director of the Center for Energy Efficiency Standards at the Natura Resources Defense Council. "In fact, new DVRs, the main set-top box in most homes, now use 36 percent less energy annually than in 2012. And due to the magic of the cloud and Internet-connected TVs, some televisions are receiving pay TV service via an 'app' that eliminates the need for a set-top box altogether."

To provide more transparency and information to consumers, regulators and other stakeholders about the progress of the Voluntary Agreement (and a similar agreement related to home Internet equipment), the participants in the Voluntary Agreement have launched a new website, www.energy-efficiency.us. The website includes links to individual pay TV and Internet provider websites so consumers can learn more about the equipment that each company offers.

The Voluntary Agreement was signed in 2012 with the goal of increasing the energy efficiency of set-top boxes while continuing to innovate and introduce new features. In 2013, leading energy efficiency advocates joined with the pay television industry in an expanded version of the Voluntary Agreement. Signatories now include all of the major multichannel video service providers representing more than 92 percent of the U.S. multichannel video market (AT&T/DIRECTV, Comcast, Charter/Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks, DISH, Verizon (News - Alert), Cox, Cablevision, and CenturyLink), major manufacturers (ARRIS/Pace, Technicolor, EchoStar Technologies) and energy-efficiency advocates (Natural Resources Defense Council, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP).

Additional progress verified in the 2015 annual report includes:

• 99.5 percent of New Set-Top Boxes Meet ENERGY STAR (News - Alert) Efficiency Standards. Under the Voluntary Agreement, the service provider signatories committed that 90 percent of the set-top boxes they purchased after December 31, 2013, would meet the energy efficiency standards of ENERGY STAR Version 3.0. In 2015, 99.5 percent of set-top boxes purchased met these standards.
• Whole-Home Systems. Multi-room DVR, network and cloud offerings by cable, telco and satellite providers have continued to expand. In the past three years, the signatories have purchased more than 27 million "thin clients," each of which can deliver DVR functionality to a TV without requiring a more energy-intensive DVR for each TV. A consumer that uses two thin clients in place of two additional DVRs saves approximately $30 per year in electricity.
• Reduced Power Modes. Most new set-top boxes now include energy-saving features that enable the devices to use less energy when not in use, such as light sleep and automatic power down. One large provider has now launched next-generation power management features that enable parts of a set-top box to go into a deep sleep reduced-power consumption mode when not in use, and other providers are developing and trialing next-generation power savings plans.
• Reducing the Number of Set-Top Boxes. The use of apps to watch pay TV programming on tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and other devices (without set-top boxes) has skyrocketed in growth.

About Consumer Technology Association:

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)^TM is the trade association representing the $287 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. More than 2,200 companies - 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world's best known brands - enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. The Consumer Technology Association also owns and produces CES (News - Alert)^® - the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA's industry services.

About NCTA (News - Alert):

NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators that deliver advanced digital services to consumers and businesses throughout urban and rural America, and more than 200 cable program networks that produce TV's most creative and popular shows. The U.S. cable industry is the largest provider of high-speed Internet access, serving more than 56 million customers, after investing $230 billion since 1996 to build robust fiber optic networks that reach 93 percent of American homes. The cable industry supports 2.7 million American jobs and there are at least 300 cable employees in every congressional district.

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