Chances are that the small squarish box that sits on top of your television set – called set-top box (STB) – could be one of the major power drainers in your home. These STBs are, by and large, kept on stand-by mode, as it takes some minutes to reboot and to bring the telecast on screen from switch-off mode. Besides, many DTH and cable operators also advise consumers to keep the box in passive mode.

According to a study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council of the US, these energy hogs consume practically the same amount of electricity even when they are in stand-by mode as its internal components such as drives, tuners and other functions continue to operate in full tilt.

Confirming this, an energy economist from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency says, STBs with increased functionalities such as processing of high definition signals and recording, will consume more power.

Going by what Mr Ajay Mathur, Director-General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, says, once the first phase of cable digitisation is executed, set-top boxes in all the roughly 15 million TV homes in the four metros together will consume 900 million units additionally a year. The assumption here is that these STBs are in active or stand-by mode for around 16 hours a day. This means, the already power-starved country needs to create another 150 MW of power generation capacity to run just these 15 million STBs.

There are approximately 140 million TV homes in the country. If all of them were to go digital by 2014, as scheduled, the number will multiply.

Experts say, energy efficiency is not just a function of hardware. The embedded software in it and how the consumer uses the box also can make a difference. Though, Mr Mathur says, there are designs and technologies available in the market which can make energy efficient boxes, one cannot be sure how many STB makers employ these designs and technologies.

BEE star rating soon

The STBs which are procured (usually from China and South Korea) by Multi System Operators for around Rs 1,500 apiece, do not have any quality certification.

Will these set-top boxes be brought under the BEE's star rating programme?

Yes. Very soon, says Mr Mathur. Realising that there will be a huge implication on power consumption and also on environment, BEE has already set up a technical committee to develop standards for these set-top boxes. “The committee is currently studying various options and will soon develop standards and will also come up with a star rating model for them,” he said.

> rravikumar@thehindu.co.in

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