Standby for action!
Sky set top boxes need to be on, or in active standby, so the Sky Guide is always up to date.
We've already halved the power consumption of the standard Sky box since its launch and have signed up to the voluntary European Commission Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency in Digital TV Services. But we're keen to keep improving the efficiency of our products so Sky has set itself some targets to reduce energy and emissions:
- By 2010, our new set top boxes will not use more than three watts of electricity in standby mode
- We're encouraging our customers to switch their set top box to standby when it's not in use - this can save up to 50% of the energy used by the box. This includes spreading the word through national advertising, on-hold messaging and our product manuals.
Auto Standby
In March 2007 we launched the world's first Auto Standby feature for set top boxes. This automatically puts them into standby mode if they're not being used overnight. The UK-pioneered technology - the first of its kind in the UK - is our latest step in reducing our impact on the environment and helping millions of customers to take small steps to reduce theirs.
Since March 2007 Auto standby has reduced carbon emissions in UK households by over 52,000 tonnes - this incredible saving is more than Sky's own carbon footprint of 45,555.
More than 4 million Sky+ and Sky HD boxes have this function, saving our customers £12m a year from their electricity bills. Roll out of this world-first software is being planned for a further 9 million set top boxes. This will result in even greater energy savings for Sky's customers. And it's being enhanced to detect a lack of activity during the day, as well as at night, so that we're helping our customers save energy and money even more.
How auto standby works
Auto standby monitors whether people are using the Sky+ or Sky HD box overnight between 11pm and 3.30am. If the box hasn't been used for a period of two hours after 11pm, an ‘Auto Standby' message will pop up on screen for three minutes. If there's no further use the box will go into Standby mode automatically, until the customer turns it back on.