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ENERGY STAR
Information to Facilitate Discussion of How to Address Purchase and Deployment
Criteria under ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for Cable, Satellite, and Telecom
Service Providers
Requirements as proposed in the Draft 3 Set-top Box (STB) Specification for Service Providers:
50% of STBs purchased in 2009 and 50% of STBs deployed in 2009 must be ENERGY
STAR qualified.
Requirements for 2010 and 2011 are TBD.
Refurbished or reconditioned STBs that meet ENERGY STAR criteria may be used in place
of newly-manufactured STBs to meet purchase and deployment requirements.
Purchase and deployment percentages may exceed 100%.
Stakeholder Questions Leading to EPA Reconsideration:
Stakeholders have requested clarification on how to count STBs toward the purchase and
deployment requirements, including:
o What constitutes an ENERGY STAR qualified STB?
o How do refurbished and reconfigured products differ in terms of meeting ENERGY STAR
requirements?
o How are "repaired" products treated?
o How do we count boxes that meet the ENERGY STAR requirements through software or
firmware upgrades made while the STB remains in the field?
EPA committed to defining these elements more clearly in the Final Draft specification.
Discussion with the EPA team and stakeholders raised the possibility of some new
approaches to achieve EPA's goals of encouraging use of ENERGY STAR qualified STBs by
Service Providers.
EPA Proposal to Address Purchase and Deployment Issues in the Final Draft Specification:
Service Providers must meet either: 1) a purchase requirement, or 2) a "percent of fleet"
requirement. Service Providers that meet both requirements will receive special recognition.
(1)	Purchase requirement:
o Ensure that at least 50% of all STBs purchased that are delivered in 2009 are
ENERGY STAR qualified,
o "Delivered" means the date on which the Service Provider takes possession of
the STB.
o Although the STB technical specification will not become effective until
December 15, 2008, Service Providers may use products manufactured prior to
December 15, 2008 for ENERGY STAR qualification if: 1) the product is tested
and shown to meet the ENERGY STAR requirements by either the Service
Provider or manufacturer of the product and, 2) the Service Provider submits
proof to EPA that the STB meets ENERGY STAR requirements. For purposes of
documenting that a STB meets the ENERGY STAR requirements, the Service
Provider may use the Qualified Product Information (QPI) form,
o Refurbished or reconfigured STBs that meet ENERGY STAR requirements can
not be used to meet the purchase requirement.
(2)	Fleet requirement:
o Ensure that at least 30% of all STBs used by subscribers during 2009 are
ENERGY STAR qualified,
o To quantify "all STBs used by subscribers" Service Provider may use: 1) the
number of STBs installed and being used by subscribers as of January 1, 2009,
or December 31, 2009, or 2) the average monthly or quarterly number of STBs
being used by subscribers during the year,
o ENERGY STAR qualified STBs may be those purchased and newly deployed in
2009, STBs refurbished and redeployed, or STBs reconfigured while remaining
at a subscriber's residence or business.

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HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE:
Newly purchased STBs
+ 2 million
Retired STBs
- 2 million
Redeployed STBs
- pulled from field and returned to field (i.e., refurbished)
+ 2 million
Updated, Installed STBs
- left in field but software update (i.e., reconfigured)
+ 6 million
Total 2009 fleet
10 million
(1)	Under Purchase Requirement
Service Provider needs to purchase at least 1 million new ENERGY STAR qualified
STBs (50% of 2 million new STBs).
(2)	Under Fleet Requirement
Service Provider needs a total of 3 million ENERGY STAR qualified STBs (30% of 10
million) through a combination of new ENERGY STAR qualified STBs and/or
refurbished or reconfigured STBs.

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