With video game consoles becoming more and more commonly found in households the world over, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now drafting plans to include game consoles in its Energy Star program.

The next version of the Energy Star specifications, set to roll out in July 2009, has been altered to include a new set of requirements for gaming consoles. So far, the Energy Star 5.0 draft has the following proposed requirements listed:

Operational Mode Requirements

• Off Mode: ≤ 1 W Sleep or Auto-Off: ≤ 5 W

Power Management and Efficient Operation Requirements

• Sleep or Auto-Off - The console shall power down to a sleep mode after 1 hour of inactivity; andƒ Provide Game Developers the tools/features allowing APD within games or programs designed for the console; andƒ Automatically APD when games are in an inactive or paused game state; and ƒ Provide for Full Network Connectivity in sleep.
• TV/Display Sleep - The console shall have the ability to drop Component, Composite, DVI outputs (using in-place standards where applicable) when the system is inactive for 15 minutes. Ability to do this in HDMI should be implemented once a HDMI standard for doing so exists; andƒ Provide visual feedback on the console's integrated display or LEDs calling attention to the consoles continued active state while outputs are dropped.
• Power Scaling - Set Top Box (STB) and DVD/Blu Ray/Movie Playback functions must come within 10% of the requirements in place for the Energy Star STB Specification Version 2.0, Tier 2 (finalized on April 23, 2008). Game consoles must be tested using the test procedure in the Set Top Box specification to evaluate their ability to meet the requirement.
• Efficient Networking
• Implement IEEE 802.3az and Full Network Connectivity in Sleep for Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
• Wireless Access Point functions must use less than 10W.

These requirements are scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2010. That's still a long way away, so expect to go through a few more console revisions before we finally get the ones with the Energy Star label.

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