Energy Use of Cable, Satellite and Telephone Set-Top Boxes to Be Slashed, Saving Consumers $1 Billion Annually

A voluntary agreement announced today by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other energy-efficiency advocates,  the U.S. Department of Energy, the pay-TV industry; and equipment manufacturers will reduce  the national electricity use of new set-top boxes by $1 billion a year.  Once in full effect, the agreement will save three power plants’ worth of electricity and prevent the emission of 5 million tons of carbon pollution each year. 

Under the voluntary agreement, the leading cable, satellite and telephone companies commit to buy more energy efficient set-top boxes, and -- for the first time – make publicly available the energy use of their new set-top boxes installed in almost 90 million U.S. homes.

The agreement caps a yearlong negotiation that followed NRDC’s groundbreaking report that found set-top box devices consumed approximately $3 billion worth of electricity annually; much of it when the box is turned “off” and the user is neither watching nor recording a show.

Energy Use of Cable, Satellite and Telephone Set-Top Boxes to Be Slashed, Saving Consumers $1 Billion Annually