Set-top boxes, the equipment that comes with television cable and satellite services, have turned out to be real energy hogs, wasting billions of dollars in electricity each year.

 

Whether Americans are watching TV or not, the boxes run at full power all the time, resulting in unnecessary energy drains. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has concluded in a new report that the country is burning up $2 billion annually in electricity on boxes not in use.

 

The waste is greatest with Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), which can use 40% percent more energy than non-DVR equipment.

 

In 2010, the 160 million set-top boxes in the United States consumed 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity—equal to the output of nine coal-fired power plants, says the NRDC. One-third of this electricity is consumed when the devices are actually in use. However, two-thirds takes place while the boxes are not even in use.

 

Almost all of the boxes are owned and installed by service providers such as Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications, DISH Network, DirecTV, Verizon and AT&T.

 

There are ways to reduce the energy waste, namely by using better designed boxes. The NRDC claims electrical consumption could be cut 30% to 50% by 2020 with the installation of newer set-top models. They call attention to the new, more energy-efficient video streaming devices and, in particular, to Apple TV as the most efficient.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Better Viewing, Lower Energy Bills, and Less Pollution: Improving the Efficiency of Television Set-Top Boxes (Natural Resources Defense Council) (pdf)

Atop TV Sets, a Power Drain That Runs Nonstop (by Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times)