A recent study by the National Resources Defense Council finds
that cable and digital recording devices are now "the single
largest electricity drain in many American homes." The study
found that "In 2010, set-top boxes in the United States consumed
approximately 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is
equivalent to the annual output of nine average (500 MW) coal-
fired power plants." This power consumption translates to
roughly $3 billion in annual electricity costs paid by
consumers, as well as being responsible for the release of 16
million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year. Furthermore,
according to the NRDC report, an average HD set-top cable box
and HD-DVR uses more energy (446 kWh/year) than an average 21
cubic foot Energy Star refrigerator (415 kWh/year). Even worse
than the "standby drain" of electricity used by equipment in a
supposedly "off" position, many of these television set-top
boxes - which include cable and satellite equipment, digital
video recorders (DVR), and the like - ar