EPA’s ENERGY STAR Program ranks Streaming Options by Energy Efficiency
By: ENERGY STAR
The average American spends about five hours per day watching television—and this year over two-thirds will do so through streaming. As consumers are weighing which streaming option will work best for their budget and their needs, EPA has another factor they’d like consumers to consider: energy efficiency and the environment.
For the first time, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program has ranked streaming options by energy efficiency. As TVs get bigger and bigger and set top boxes and new game consoles demand more energy than previous generations, binge-watching “Friends” now has potential to suck energy as well as time! With ENERGY STAR’s recommended approaches to streaming, consumers can save energy and time. And less energy means less greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
The following infographic summarizes energy-efficient streaming, and provides these tips on how to save energy with consumer electronics:
- Televisions are now manufactured with multiple screen settings and options that can affect the power consumption of your television. Set your television to the “home” or “standard” setting, which uses less energy. Reducing the brightness can reduce your television’s energy use by 18 to 30 percent.
- Always look for the ENERGY STAR when shopping for new home electronics products—they will use 25-30 percent less energy than standard equipment.
- A game console is great for games, but if used for streaming, it can use as much as 171 watts of power! Save energy by using your laptop or tablet instead.
by Editor