Slashing the hydra: Reducing allowances in MEPS for complex set top boxes

As many other electronic products complex set top boxes offer a variety of (secondary) functions, e.g. a hard disk recording, high definition and network connectivity. Minimum Efficiency Performance Standards (MEPS) for voluntary or mandatory initiatives use allowances to accommodate for these functionalities. With increasing functionality also the number of allowances tends to increase. The problem is to set the right number and level of allowances, especially when applying multiple allowances to one product. Too many or too high allowances will not stimulate manufacturers to make their products more efficient, while too little or too low allowances may inhibit products with useful functionalities to enter the market. We analyse the allowances applied to complex set top boxes by the EU voluntary agreement. From the comparison of actual consumption with the allowed energy consumption we conclude that some allowances are not needed at all and we estimate the appropriate level of other allowances. We find that a higher number of allowances correlates with a larger difference between allowed and actual energy consumption. Therefore we provide a suggestion to take into account the synergies of multiple allowances applied to one product.