Set-Top Industry Extends Energy Efficiency Agreement; Deep Sleep Not Here Yet

MVPDs, set-top box makers and energy efficiency advocates agreed to a four-year extension of their voluntary agreement on set-top box energy efficiency, NCTA and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced Thursday. The extended agreement includes provisions to further improve set-top energy efficiency by 2020, a reporting requirement for efforts to transition from physical devices to more energy efficient apps, and a process to move toward further efficiency increases, signatories told us. The voluntary structure is making devices more efficient, and “driving good incremental improvement,” said NRDC Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz.

Not included are requirements for even greater energy savings through placing hard drives in a deep sleep state. Energy efficiency advocates are disappointed such provisions didn’t make the cut this time, as they also were left out of the previous version (see 1312240033), said Horowitz. CTA is also part of the deal. Among companies taking part: Arris, AT&T/DirecTV, CenturyLink, Comcast, Charter Communications, Dish Network and Verizon.

Ninety percent of set-tops procured by signatory ISPs must be up to what the agreement calls “Tier 2” standards of energy efficiency through 2019 -- the same standard as under the accord's previous iteration. Starting in 2020 and through 2022, 90 percent of procured boxes must be at “Tier 3” -- a 20 percent improvement in efficiency. The agreement is believed to have saved consumers over $1 billion on their energy bills in 2017, NCTA said.

The Department of Energy “supports the commitment from industry to improve energy efficiency,” said Secretary Rick Perry in a release from NCTA. "Reducing federal regulatory burdens is a priority for myself and this Administration, and voluntary industry standards such as this are an effective alternative to government regulation." The set-top voluntary agreement is the only voluntary industry energy efficiency effort supported by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, said Building Director Jennifer Thorne Amann. “We are really strong supporters of regulation.” Set-tops are a unique category because they are largely not direct consumer purchases, unlike other devices in the home, she said.

The extended agreement also mentions “Tier 4,” an undefined future higher level of energy efficiency, said Davis Wright attorney Paul Glist, who represents MVPD signatories. The parties to the agreement didn’t work out the specifics of Tier 3 until relatively late in the life of the previous iteration, and the Tier 4 provisions are intended to structure the effort to further improve set top energy efficiency through working groups and timelines, Amann said.

Tier 4 could be the avenue for including “deep-sleep” standards in the next version, Horowitz said. MVPDs argued they can't yet enable a “quick resume” that would allow the device to quickly power back up from sleep mode, but Horowitz hopes for that to be addressed. The savings in energy in other features of the device have made deep-sleep a less significant issue, Glist said. As long as there are physical set-tops, a deep-sleep mode would greatly reduce their energy use, Horowitz said.

The industry is making progress toward replacing boxes with apps, and the agreement includes reporting clauses that will make it easy to track that progress, said NCTA General Counsel Neal Goldberg. Though reporting requirements don’t compel a transition to apps, the increased transparency makes it easier to advocate for such a move, Horowitz said. Since smart TVs and similar devices don’t use as much energy as set-tops, an industry shift to apps would greatly improve efficiency, Horowitz said.