The voluntary agreement two years ago between CE makers, the pay-TV...

The voluntary agreement two years ago between CE makers, the pay-TV industry and green advocates like the Natural Resources Defense Council on energy standards for set-top boxes (CED July 24/12 p6) has saved U.S. consumers around $168 million on energy bills and 842,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, said NCTA in a blog post Thursday (http://bit.ly/1lyFTXV). The information on energy saved comes from an annual report (http://bit.ly/1tP3svy) on the impact of the agreement by an independent administrator hired by the agreement’s participants, said a CEA news release on the report. Under the agreement, 85 percent of set-tops bought by pay-TV providers in 2013 met the EPA’s Energy Star 3.0 efficiency levels, using 14 percent less energy than previous models, NCTA said. The agreement has also led to software updates being deployed to enable light sleep for set-tops already in homes, an auto power-down feature in 90 percent of direct broadcast satellite boxes and energy efficiency information being posted by pay-TV providers for all new boxes, NCTA said. The more efficient boxes “save consumers money on their electric bill, reduce pollution, and work even better than the old ones used to,” said Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the NRDC.