Tv dvr units consume $3 billion in energy -- mostly while turned off, study says

_This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts._ DVR set-top boxes and the state of Maryland have another

thing in common besides “The Wire”: Both eat up 27 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. The 160 million digital video recorders, cable and other pay-TV boxes sitting in 80% of U.S. homes

cost consumers about $3 billion in electricity costs, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Two-thirds of that cost comes from inactive boxes that aren’t

recording or playing back shows. The technology, which requires more power than an average new flat-screen television, sucks up the same amount of energy each year as is produced by nine

coal-burning power plants. Read more at The Times’ Greenspace blog. RELATED: Plasma screen TVs: The next environmental threat? State mandates power-saving TVs -- Tiffany Hsu