Extension for STB Efficiency to Cut Energy Use by 43%, Say CTA, NCTA

CTA and NCTA announced an extension of a voluntary agreement for ongoing improvement to set-top box energy efficiency. The extension, beginning in 2023 and running through 2025, highlights IP set-top boxes, which are becoming the most common set-top box type in video distribution, they said Tuesday.

The extended agreement will cut maximum power levels for IP-based non-DVR set-top boxes by about 43% on average from 2021 levels, said the groups. By the end of the extended term, the total energy used by set-top boxes in the U.S. is projected to be a third of the energy used by the devices in 2012, when the first agreement was signed, they said.

Progress made in energy and cost reductions due to the voluntary agreement is “a testament to what can be accomplished through private sector initiative and collaboration,” said Doug Johnson, CTA vice president-technology policy, citing signatories including MVPDs AT&T/DirecTV, Comcast, Charter, Dish, Verizon, Cox, Altice and Frontier; manufacturers CommScope and Technicolor; and energy efficiency advocates Natural Resources Defense Council and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. CableLabs helped research and develop energy efficiency strategies, defining the energy efficiency tiers and supporting the ongoing implementation of the agreement, they said.

“The flexibility of the agreement has enabled it to succeed during a period of unprecedented change and innovation in the video market,” said Neal Goldberg, NCTA general counsel, saying it "encouraged new technologies and approaches that have led to even greater savings while also delivering new and better services to consumers.”

NRDC Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz blogged that many future consumers will be able to “get rid of their set-top boxes entirely and access content directly through an app installed on their TV.” A DVR uses 125-200-plus kilowatt hours per year, vs. a streaming box the size of a paperback book “that delivers the same functionality and typically uses less than 50 kWh/yr,” he said. Providers that offer an app allow users to get by without a provider's set-top completely, he noted, citing smart TVs and streaming players such as Apple TV, Kindle Fire and Roku boxes, which use less than 25 kWh per year. Horowitz encouraged consumers to contact their providers about a "swap" for their DVRs that will save them about $25 a year each on a utility bill.

The Department of Energy “welcomes the extension of the set-top box voluntary agreement and supports the continued efforts of our industry partners to improve the energy efficiency of these products and save consumers money on their energy bills," said Kathleen Hogan, acting undersecretary for science and energy, crediting work by CTA and NCTA to study impacts of cloud-based streaming services on electricity use across America.

Under the extension, pay-TV customers “will enjoy energy and cost savings when they adopt the latest technology to stream content,” said Jennifer Amann, ACEEE buildings program director. The agreement has saved consumers $7 billion in energy costs and avoided 39 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through the end of 2019, said CTA and NCTA.