M+E Daily

By Paul Sweeting

Anyone who has ever done a home energy audit knows that their cable or satellite set-top box or DVR is an energy hog. According to a study last year by the Energy Resources Defense Council (NRDC) the typical home set up, with one HD DVR and one HD set-top, consumes an average of 446 kilowatt hours per year of electricity, more than most refrigerators and more than twice as much as the average LDC TV the box is connected to.

Worse, two-thirds of that energy consumption occurs while the box is not in use. That’s because for most consumers, powering off their cable box is impractical. Most can only be fully powered off by unplugging them. Network connectivity is also lost when the box is powered off, and it can take up to several hours for the electronic program guide and other functionality to re-loaded and fully restored. A powered off DVR also can’t be used to record programs overnight or when the user is not home. As a result, most STBs are configured to remain connected and fully powered up at all times.

The cable industry and set-top box makers are now trying to address the problem. On Thursday, 15 pay-TV providers and STB makers unveiled a voluntary agreement to roll out a new box design and to update existing boxes to make them more energy efficient. The agreement was announced by the Consumer Electronics Assn., and the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn, which claim it will save U.S. consumers $1.5 billion annually in energy costs. The agreement was signed by Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon, Charter, AT&T, Cablevision, Bright House Networks and CenturyLink, and manufacturers Cisco, Motorola, EchoStar Technologies and ARRIS.

According to the agreement:

At least 90 percent of all new set-top boxes purchased and deployed after 2013 will meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR 3.0 efficiency levels. Based on market projections for set-top box deployments, this will result in residential electricity savings of $1.5 billion annually, as the agreement is fully realized.

• For immediate residential electricity savings, “light sleep” capabilities will be downloaded by cable operators to more than 10 million digital video recorders (DVRs) that are already in homes.
• In 2013, telco providers will offer light sleep capabilities, and satellite providers will include an “automatic power down” feature in 90 percent of set-top-boxes purchased and deployed.
• Energy efficient whole-home DVR solutions will be available as an alternative to multiple in-home DVRs for subscribers of satellite and some telco providers beginning in 2013.
• “Deep sleep” functionality in next generation cable set-top boxes will be field tested and deployed if successful.

While applauding the industries’ attention to the issue, the NRDC nonetheless blasted the agreement as inadequate. “It’s good that cable and satellite companies recognize the need to provide consumers with set-top boxes that waste less energy.  Unfortunately, their proposal is a far cry from what is needed to significantly decrease the $2 billion worth of electricity these devices waste each year,” NRDC senior scientist Noah Horowitz said in a statement. “The TV industry can and should implement new design features that incorporate power-saving technologies similar to those in today’s smart phones, which sip rather than gulp power when not in use.”

CEA and NCTA defended the agreement as a work in progress, however. “Companies involved in the new Set-Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement will meet regularly to review and update energy efficiency measures, and to host ongoing discussions with the [Department of Energy] the [Environmental Protection Agency] and other interested government agencies and stakeholders on new technologies and equipment,” the groups said. “To create accountability and support transparency, the agreement’s terms include detailed processes for verification of set-top box performance in the field; annual public reporting on energy efficiency improvements; and posting of product power consumption information by each company for its customers.”