Arcep carried out a comprehensive study by studying 38 models of internet boxes, 8 Wi-Fi repeaters and 23 TV decoders.
Did you know that internet boxes and TV decoders consume 3.3 TWh of electricity per year in France, or 0.7% of the country’s total electricity consumption? This is what reveals a report recently published by Arcep, the French telecoms regulator, entitled “For sustainable digital technology”. The PDF can be viewed here.
Very variable electricity consumption depending on the model
Arcep collected for the first time data on the electricity consumption of 38 internet box models, 8 Wi-Fi repeaters and 23 TV decoders. First observation: the instantaneous electricity consumption of boxes and decoders can vary greatly depending on the model, ranging from 3.6 to 25 W for boxes, and from 2.3 to 17.7 W for decoders. A decoder with a hard drive will logically consume much more: up to 17.7 watts.
Another observation: the latest generation of internet boxes consumes much less than the old ones, we are talking here about the 2020-2022 generation. It now seems a priority for internet service providers to reduce their carbon footprint.
Fiber
Bbox fit Fiber
Flow up to 400 Mbps
Without Player TV
Telephony to 110 destinations
ADSL, Fiber
Freebox Pop
Flow up to 5 Gbps
230 TV channels included
Telephony to 110 destinations
29.99€
39.99€
For 12 months
Fiber, Cable
RED box Fiber
Flow up to 500 Mbps
Without Player TV
Telephony to 100 destinations
All internet boxes
Almost constant power consumption, whatever the activity of the box
Other lessons from the study: the internet box consumes almost as much depending on its activity, whether you use it or not. Nearly 95% of a box’s electricity consumption is independent of the duration and intensity of its use.
As for Wi-Fi, it consumes around 16 kWh per year (1.9 watts), which gives (depending on your subscription) 2.5 to 3 euros per year in cost. So you can turn it off if you don’t use it, but the savings won’t be huge.
As for the entire box, if we consider a box which consumes on average 9.9 watts, this represents an expense of around 14 euros per year (at 0.16 euros per kWh).
For TV decoders, consumption remains quite low in absolute terms: 3.9 W for a modern model on average. But old decoders sometimes consume significantly more (8.7 W for those of the 2010/2015 generation) and the presence of a Blu-ray player (like Free) or a hard drive has a significant impact.
The limits of replacing old equipment with newer models
Finally, Arcep emphasizes that replacing an old decoder or an obsolete box with a more recent, less energy-consuming model may seem like a good idea to reduce individual energy consumption.
However, this approach is not necessarily beneficial for the environment as a whole. Indeed, the environmental impacts linked to the manufacturing and transport of new equipment can cancel out the energy savings made through their use.
It is therefore important to take into account all environmental factors before deciding to replace electronic equipment. In summary : do not change your hardware if it still works.