i3 - November/December 2016 - 57

By Elliot Grimm

Policy

G R E E N P O L I CY

More Efficient Home
Technology Reduces
National Energy
Consumption

W

BURAZIN/GETTY IMAGES

ith tens of millions of homes in the U.S. connecting
to the internet and watching television every
day, CTA and NCTA - The Internet & Television
Association are working closely with the consumer
technology sector to help save consumers money and reduce
carbon emissions. Through two voluntary agreements that
reduce energy consumption of set-top
boxes (STB) and small network
equipment (SNE) such as modems
and routers, respectively, the industry
is taking strong leadership in
improving the energy efficiency of
our home technology.
According to the latest
annual report, the STB
voluntary agreement saved
consumers more than $646
million in energy costs in
2015. Additionally, more
than 3.6 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were prevented through
more efficient devices. And even
as STBs gain more features and
abilities, their overall national
energy consumption dropped
16 percent.
"The pay TV industry and its suppliers are beginning to make a real dent
in the high energy use of cable, satellite
and telephone set-top boxes," said
Noah Horowitz, director of the Center
for Energy Efficiency Standards at the
Natural Resources Defense Council.
The STB voluntary agreement, signed
in 2012, has saved consumers nearly $1.2
billion in energy costs and avoided 6.5
million metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The energy saved through just three years
C TA . t e c h / i 3

Another Success Story
The SNE voluntary agreement was
adopted in 2015 by most major internet
service providers, as well as manufacturers and retail suppliers, to reduce the
energy used by modems, routers and
other devices connected to consumers'
home broadband internet access services.
A year later, the first findings demonstrate another industry success story:
nearly 90 percent of reported units
purchased and sold in 2015 met the
agreement's rigorous efficiency standards,
reducing energy consumption in millions
of U.S. homes. Further, most of the
signatories successfully implemented
their commitments a full year early.
Recognizing the SNE agreement's
success, Professor G.P. Li, director of
the California Plug Load Research
Center at the University of California
Irvine, remarked, "This is a significant
accomplishment, bolstering our mutual
interest in a commitment to reducing
the energy footprint of the growing
number of plug-load devices used
by consumers."

A Key Benefit

is equivalent to the energy used by all of
the homes in Washington, D.C. and San
Francisco combined for an entire year.
The agreement's outstanding results
were recognized in June, when it was
named a 2016 Environmental Leader
Project of the Year. The judges cited
the initiative's success in establishing
a collaborative effort that significantly
reduced the industry's impact on the
environment while saving consumers
hundreds of millions of dollars.

These voluntary agreements
permit parties to deploy new
features and types of equipment
without advance permission.
The parties then can adopt energy
allowances for new features that
apply to future models more quickly
than under a traditional regulatory
approach. This design is essential to
fostering innovation in technology
and business models in rapidly-changing
industries. The successes of both these
agreements in achieving substantial
energy savings without undermining
innovation show the effectiveness of
voluntary, private sector-driven agreements in providing meaningful energy
and cost savings to consumers and the
country. Whether by innovating devices
that are faster and smarter, or ones that
help reduce energy costs, the industry is
constantly working toward improving the
consumer experience.
n
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

57
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i3 - November/December 2016

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