18°c Overcast
13°c Cloudy with showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
More energy-efficient TV set-top boxes on way in U.S.
Set-top boxes don't power down when not in use, making them costly to operate. (MATT ROURKE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)
Pay TV set-top boxes, often one of the biggest energy hogs in most homes because they never power down, may become more efficient and save American consumers money under an industry agreement announced Thursday.
By January 2014, more than 90 per cent of these boxes will meet the U.S. government's Energy Star 3.0 requirements, according to the voluntary five-year accord by 15 device manufacturers as well as cable, satellite and phone providers. Because Energy Star boxes use at least 30 per cent less power, the companies expect annual savings of $1.5 billion.
"This is significant," says Doug Johnson of the Consumer Electronics Association, which co-announced the initiative with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. He says the new set-top boxes will not only reduce energy costs for consumers but also reduce service calls for providers, because they won't heat up as much and will thus last longer.
The boxes, which are losing popularity as more people watch TV online or via video game consoles, are costly to operate. The reason's simple: unlike cellphones, they don't power down when not in use. Hitting the off button dims the clock or display but rarely reduces power use, and unplugging a personal video recorder, or PVR, slashes energy use but won't record TV shows.
They cost $3 billion in 2010 to operate, two-thirds of which was wasted because they were connected but weren't being used, according to a 2011 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.
Noah Horowitz, NRDC senior scientist, calls the announcement "a far cry from what is needed to significantly decrease the $2 billion worth of electricity these devices waste each year."
-- USA Today
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 8, 2012 B11
More Science & Technology
- Back to Top
- Return to Science & Technology
Poll
Most Popular Science & Tech
- Possible BlackBerry tablet steals the show at company's annual conference
- All the fitness that fits
- So, is astronaut Chris Hadfield interested in politics?
- Chris Hadfield's week: from commanding the space station, to being unfit to drive a car
- Google Maps getting a radical redesign, users can sign up for it today
- Billion-year-old underground water could hold clues to early life on Earth, Mars
- Consumers may want to renegotiate deals now in case Telus buys Mobilicity: PIAC
- Siteseeing
- Hadfield hands over Space Station Command, prepares to come back to Earth
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield back on Earth after five-month mission in space
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield back on Earth after five-month mission in space
- Possible BlackBerry tablet steals the show at company's annual conference
- Chris Hadfield's week: from commanding the space station, to being unfit to drive a car
- Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield prepares for Soyuz ride home from space
- BlackBerry focuses on cool factor as it returns to Orlando for annual event
- Google plants playable Atari Breakout Easter egg in image search
- Google poised to show off latest devices, services at LA event
- Beam me up popcorn Scotty; space station crew gets 'Star Trek' film before Earthlings
- Greenhouse gas that's key to global warming hits highest level in about 2 million years
- Billion-year-old underground water could hold clues to early life on Earth, Mars
- 'WhatsApp Messenger' top paid iPhone app in Canada
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield back on Earth after five-month mission in space
- Astronaut MP Garneau snubbed at museum opening of Canadarm exhibit
- Possible BlackBerry tablet steals the show at company's annual conference
- Chris Hadfield's week: from commanding the space station, to being unfit to drive a car
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- Bugged by the billions: East Coast about to see power of big numbers in coming cicada invasion
- Greenhouse gas that's key to global warming hits highest level in about 2 million years
- Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield prepares for Soyuz ride home from space
- Russian becomes world's oldest spacewalker at 59, loses hold of science tray, now space junk
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield back on Earth after five-month mission in space
- BlackBerry launches Q5; makes BBM available on iOS, Android devices this summer
- Chris Hadfield's week: from commanding the space station, to being unfit to drive a car
- Microsoft update to address Windows 8 complaints, confusion will be free; to be called 8.1
- Google plants playable Atari Breakout Easter egg in image search
- All the fitness that fits
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield back on Earth after five-month mission in space
- Canadians watch 30 hours of TV a week but for many the web dominates free time
- New wireless players Mobilicity, Wind Mobile and Public Mobile may all face sale
- How do you compare? New report reveals stats about social media usage in Canada
- Hurricane watch at Saturn's North Pole: Cyclone eye is 1,250 miles wide, cloud speed 330 mph
- Bugged by the billions: East Coast about to see power of big numbers in coming cicada invasion
- Adobe shifts to subscription model for software package, Creative Suite becomes Creative Cloud
- Windows 8, Take 2: Microsoft to spiff up maligned operating system with 'Blue' touch-up job
- Astronaut MP Garneau snubbed at museum opening of Canadarm exhibit
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.