TV set-top boxes and home internet devices like modems and routers are doing more than keeping Americans connected—they’re also cutting energy use and saving households billions of dollars.
New independent reports from Evergreen Economics show that in 2025, all of the companies participating in two industry-led voluntary agreements met their energy efficiency commitments, with 100% of new set-top boxes and 99.4% of new home internet equipment meeting the programs’ targets.
By the Numbers
- National set-top box energy consumption has dropped 79%, from 32 terawatt-hours in 2012 to just 6.8 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- In 2025 alone, consumers saved an estimated $4.36 billion on their utility bills and avoided 16.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from power plants.
- Over the set-top box program’s 13-year history, cumulative savings add up to 180.6 terawatt-hours of avoided energy use—representing $26.5 billion in consumer electricity savings and 126 million metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions.
- The weighted average power use of new home internet equipment, relative to the broadband speeds it delivers, has declined 91% since 2015, even as speeds and Wi-Fi performance have climbed.
What’s New This Year
For the first time, the Small Network Equipment (SNE) Voluntary Agreement’s scope has expanded to include fixed wireless access (FWA) technology, and the program welcomed its newest signatory, T-Mobile.
With this expansion, the SNE agreement now covers approximately 102.8 million residential U.S. internet subscriptions, a nearly 13% increase over the prior year and about 88% of the fixed residential internet access market.
How Industry Collaboration Drives Efficiency
For more than a decade, the nation’s leading internet, cable, satellite, and telco service providers and equipment manufacturers have worked together through two voluntary agreements designed to reduce home device energy use:
- Set-Top Box (STB) Voluntary Agreement – Now in its 13th year, this program covers the set-top boxes that consumers get from cable, satellite, and telephone companies serving the vast majority of U.S. pay-TV households.
- Small Network Equipment (SNE) Voluntary Agreement – Now in its 11th year, this program covers the broadband modems, routers, and Wi-Fi extenders that connect homes to the internet.
Both agreements have been extended through 2028. On the SNE side, signatories have also adopted a more rigorous schedule of efficiency requirements, which takes effect for devices purchased and sold beginning in 2026.
These results show how industry collaboration and continued innovation keep delivering real value—helping households save money, reduce energy use, and support a more sustainable future.
Learn more about the voluntary agreements and the industry’s energy efficiency efforts at energy-efficiency.us.
