# Efficient Modems and Routers Could Cut Home Energy Costs

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2013/06/efficient-modems-routers-energy-savings/
- Published: 2013-06-19T21:24:07-04:00
- Author: greenguruguides

**Efficient modems and routers** can reduce a source of household electricity use
that often runs 24 hours a day.

## Home Networking Equipment Uses Power Around the Clock

![Home computer and internet equipment representing modem and router electricity
use](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/img_2008-e1554167715297.
jpg?resize=300%2C200&quality=52&ssl=1)

Attractive female assistant working, typing, using portable computer, concentrated,
looking at the monitor. Office worker reading business e-mail

Connecting to the Internet and Transferring Data to Computers and other Home Devices
Consumes as Much Energy as a Flat Screen TV

speed Internet subscribers consume about $1 billion worth of electricity annually
but more efficient models could cut consumer bills by at least $330 million, according
to a groundbreaking analysis released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“These small, innocuous black boxes that never sleep consume enough electricity 
each year to power all 1.2 million homes in the Silicon Valley area, the hi-tech
capital of the world,” said NRDC senior scientist Noah Horowitz. “Small network 
devices suck roughly the same amount of energy around the clock, whether or not 
you are sending or receiving any data. But there are steps that manufacturers can–
and should – take to make sure these devices are no longer energy vampires.”

The report, Cutting Energy and Costs to Connect to the Internet: Improving the Efficiency
of Home Network Equipment, is the first detailed look at small network energy use
in U.S. households. It found that modems used to access the Internet and Wi-Fi routers
that move digital content around the home to computers, printers, game consoles,
and other electronics annually consume as much electricity as a new 32-inch flat
screen television. That’s more than twice as much as an efficient 14-inch laptop
computer, and 30 times as much as a cell phone charger.

With 145 million small network devices nationwide, all that energy adds up to 8.3
billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumed annually, which is equal to the output
of three large, coal-burning power plants (500 MW). The result is an estimated 5
million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to the pollution
spewing from the tailpipes of 1.1 million vehicles.

However, replacing today’s inefficient devices with equipment that is just 25 percent
more energy efficient could save 2.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity—or about
$330 million worth of customer energy bills—annually.

Unfortunately, few manufacturers currently make energy efficient models and even
then, it is difficult for consumers to determine which ones use less energy, regardless
of whether they are purchased from store shelves or leased as part of an Internet
service package.

The government’s ENERGY STAR® program is expected to soon issue a specification 
that will result in a label to help customers buy efficient models and choose Internet
providers offering energy-saving network equipment in their subscription packages.
However, qualifying models will not be required to meet the industry’s advanced 
benchmarks to scale power down when data is not being transmitted. In addition, 
the state of California is considering setting minimum energy efficiency standards
to make sure every model sold there is an efficient one.

“We’ve improved the efficiency of all sorts of electronics – from TVs to video game
consoles,” said Horowitz. “It’s just as possible to increase the energy savings 
from our modems and routers. The manufacturers know how to build the better mousetrap,
and it’s time for that innovation to be a standard feature in the new modems and
routers we buy at the store or receive from our Internet providers.”

For more information, see Noah Horowitz’s blog: [http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/nhorowitz/](http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/nhorowitz/)
and our issue paper at [http://www.nrdc.org/energy/energy-saving-residential-network.asp](http://www.nrdc.org/energy/energy-saving-residential-network.asp).

## Always-On Devices Create Hidden Energy Loads

Routers, modems and network equipment rarely shut down completely. Better power 
management and more efficient hardware can therefore save energy without changing
how people use the internet.

For more hidden-energy coverage, see our [phantom energy guide](https://greenlivingguy.com/2026/07/phantom-energy-the-hidden-electricity-drain/).

## Conclusion

Small devices can create meaningful energy use when they operate continuously. More
efficient networking hardware is a simple way to reduce that background load.

Source: NRDC analysis described in the original article.