Looking for a creative way to save energy? Don't forget about your cable box. The television might not be the first device most people think of when it comes to energy conservation, but that's about to change. A voluntary agreement among manufacturers, cable providers and the federal government calls for big efficiency overhauls in the set-top boxes that bring cable and satellite signals into consumers' homes.

Meeting Efficiency Goals

Certain cable boxes can use half as much electricity as a refrigerator, according to the Energy Collective, so there's a lot of room to conserve. And a full 85 percent of American households have some kind of set-top box, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Consumer Electronics Association. In households with multiple set-top boxes in different rooms, there may be a shocking amount of electricity consumed merely by piping in everyone’s favorite shows.

Set-top boxes don't have minimum federal standards, so the voluntary agreement is an alternative way to bring all the products up to a certain energy conservation threshold. Since technology changes so quickly in telecommunications, and the federal regulatory process is so cumbersome and slow, voluntary compliance allows stakeholders to advance efficiency goals without waiting for new regulations that might be outdated by the time they are enacted.

The agreement was put into place last year and should save consumers $168 million in electricity bills annually, according to the NCTA annual report on the program. Even more stringent voluntary standards will kick in in 2017.

Cutting-Edge Efficiency

The highest standards are found in the federal Energy Star program, which certifies set-top boxes that are 40 percent more efficient than average models. If every cable box hit the Energy Star benchmark, the program claims, consumers would save a total of $1 billion annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking two million cars off the road.

Most boxes are always drawing power, even when they’re in standby mode. One way in which more advanced models save energy is through deep sleep mode, which consumes a maximum of 15 percent of the power used during active mode. Automatic power-down is another feature that many new boxes include.

Providers are also offering “thin client” boxes for homes with multiple televisions. Under this arrangement, the main cable box may use a fair amount of electricity, but the additional boxes would consume considerably less.

Of course, most people don't buy their own cable boxes, so to make sure you’re getting an efficient model, remember to ask your cable provider. Your cable company may also be willing to upgrade your existing box or swap it out for a more advanced model.

Commercial buildings require special considerations when it comes to electrical wiring. Most commercial buildings do not have the luxury of a wooden frame to run wires through, so other wiring methods must be used. Some of those are discussed below.

In some instances, armored cable may be used. This type of cable, known as teck cable, is available in nearly any size and features a core made of the desired number and sizes of wires, protective jacketing, flexible aluminum armor, and in some cases a weather-resistant exterior jacket. Teck cables can be pulled through conduit, cable tray, or be buried directly in the ground as long as the cable is rated for direct burial and certain burial depths are adhered to. Teck cables can also be installed in hazardous locations by using special explosion-proof cable fittings and approved sealing compounds. The main advantage to teck cable is its ease of installation and versatility. When using a cable tray system, cables can also be easily added or removed at any time.

With this basic knowledge of the types of electrical wiring methods used in commercial buildings, it is easy to select the best option for any installation.

The phrase “light recipe” is a good entry point into a conversation about LED lighting as a world-changing technology. While people originally thought of LEDs as a somewhat ineffectual light source good only for small electronic displays and then as a profound energy saver, we now understand that the potential for LEDs to change the world we live in is even more staggering than the way cell phones were first imagined to merely facilitate conversation and grew to be pocket PCs used for managing our social, economic, and artistic lives.

If you’re like us, you are proud of the artwork you’ve chosen to adorn the walls of your home or business. A framed movie poster, an original oil painting, or even a stylish wall hanging all serve to bring color, and life to a room. Make sure that the images that have been so carefully selected are seen in their full splendor with the right lighting.