CEA hailed an International Energy Agency report on...

network-enabled devices in use may soar to 50 billion by 2020, and that if “left unchecked,” their “corresponding energy demand” would exceed “the current annual electricity consumption of Canada and Germany combined.” IEA said “a vast majority of this energy would be consumed when devices are ‘ready and waiting,’ but not performing any particular function.” However, “contrary to implications of the IEA report, we find that consumer electronics now account for a lower percentage of electricity usage per U.S. household than they did just three years ago -- even as they've seen significantly higher market penetration in U.S. homes,” said Doug Johnson, CEA vice president-technology policy, in a statement Wednesday (http://bit.ly/W0UZKg). As CEA and its members “review the details of the new report, we appreciate the IEA’s recognition of the significant role that industry standards and voluntary agreements play in improving energy efficiency,” Johnson said. As the CE industry has learned from more than 20 years of experience with the Energy Star program, “market-oriented, flexible approaches are superior to regulatory mandates in advancing energy efficiency, while protecting innovation and competition in the fast-moving market for information and communication technology,” Johnson said. The CE and pay-TV industries have started work on “a new initiative focused on efficiency in small network equipment,” building on their recent agreement to curb energy use in set-top boxes, he said. “Given the rapid changes in the energy consumption characteristics of consumer electronics devices and high-tech products, it’s essential to develop and use up-to-date and accurate assessments of energy usage. Clearly, energy efficiency is best achieved when the public and private sectors work together.” CEA and NCTA have recently been refuting reports that cable and CE pay-TV devices use too much power (CD June 24 p16).