Industry-wide green initiatives are bringing tremendous savings in annual energy costs, cutting down on CO2 emissions, and exceeding energy efficiency goals, according to new independent audits that examined two voluntary energy efficiency agreements that are led by NCTA, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and CableLabs.
Set-Top Boxes Are More Energy Efficient Every Year
The voluntary agreement between the pay-TV industry and energy efficiency advocates to reduce the energy required to power set-top boxes has accomplished impressive results:
- $2.5 billion in annual energy cost savings for consumers in 2021
- 64 million fewer metric tons of CO2 emissions emitted since the start of the agreement nine years ago
- A total of $12 billion in electricity cost savings, more than enough to power every home in California for nearly a year
- 57% decrease in the aggregate energy usage of set-top boxes
Broadband Equipment Energy Efficiency Levels Exceed Goals
Key successes of the Small Network Equipment (SNE) program—which was established in 2015 to address the energy efficiency of consumer devices used to access the internet—include:
- More than 98% of new modems, routers and other internet equipment purchased and sold last year met targeted energy efficiency levels, exceeding the agreement's goal of 90%
- Energy usage held steady even as average broadband speeds increased by 27% in 2021
- Average energy usage of the equipment relative to broadband speed has decreased by more than 80% since the agreement was implemented
The internet service providers and manufacturers of SNE involved in this agreement also recently announced a major expansion and four-year extension of the program, which includes more stringent energy efficiency commitments for 2023. They also announced the addition of Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest electric utility, which agreed to take on the energy efficiency advocate role in the program, and new industry participants eero (an Amazon company), Google, Sagemcom, and TP-Link.
Through successful industry-wide collaboration via these voluntary agreements, cable providers remain committed to energy efficiency while simultaneously continuing to deliver high-quality products and services.
For more information on the agreements, visit https://www.energy-efficiency.us/.