The cost-benefit analysis of the digital television debate needs to take account of the hot air produced.
Chris Goodall of Enders Analysis told a panel at the Oxford Media Convention that over the next twenty years the cost of digital switchover in the UK would include £3.5 million payable by consumers on electricity bills because of the increased energy demands of set-top boxes. Apparently many are not compliant with European Union energy codes.
However, it may not be all that bad. Jane Humphries, head of broadcast policy at the Department of Trade and Industry noted “This is not meant to sound flippant, but the heat given off by the set-top box does mean that households may not use so much heat energy from other sources.”