COLD HARD DATA: How much power do DIRECTV Receivers use?

Thanks to Signal Labs member RAD for this testing!

Your neighbor’s cable box may be a power hog… but you can sleep easy knowing that your DIRECTV receivers are cool as cucumbers… and we have the numbers to prove it. Signal Labs, our user community, is up to the task, and RAD tested a whole bunch of DIRECTV equipment with a Kill-a-Watt to find out exactly how much power was used. DIRECTV’s published specs hold up to third-party testing, and it’s pretty amazing how little power these things do use, especially considering everything they do. Here’s the data (all numbers in watts.)

NOTE: The “Standby” numbers were measured just minutes after turning the receivers off. DIRECTV DVRs go into a power saving mode one to four hours after going into standby, where power consumption is even lower. There just wasn’t enough time to wait for this to happen.

Device
In Standby/Off
On
H21-100 13.2 16.1
HR23-700 21.7 22.5
HR24-500 22.8 24.0
HR44-700 15.4 16.4
AM21 9.9
AM21N 8.7
C31-700 4.6 5.2
C41-100 4.4 4.9
C41-700 4.0 4.6
C41W-100 6.0 7.7
C41W-500 5.6 7.2
DECA Broadband – 4.8
Wireless DECA 8.5
Wireless Video Bridge – 6.6
GenieGo2 9.4
29V SWM Power Inserter with SWM16 28.8
21V SWM Power Inserter with SWM LNB 9.8

You really see the savings when you look at the Genie Mini Clients which use about 5 watts compared to your average cable box at over 35 watts. That could be a savings of $100 per year for your home, and you don’t have to give up anything to get it! That’s a testament to the hard work of DIRECTV’s engineers and manufacturing partners, and you save money because of it!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.