The large number of broadband users and its forecast growth has recently triggered research on energy-efficiency in digital subscriber lines (DSLs). A promising technique are low-power modes (LPMs) as standardized in asymmetric DSL 2 (ADSL2) which let the DSL connection operate in downstream direction with reduced transmit rate and power. We study the problem of optimizing the LPM rate-level for energy-efficiency. A traffic-independent rate setting is proposed based on an analytical competitive framework. Also, a Markov chain based LPM model is derived which facilitates the fast numerical optimization of the LPM rate-level under realistic traffic models and system constraints. Simulation results under various traffic settings and DSL scenarios demonstrate energy savings by LPMs of around 30–40% of the ADSL2 transceiver’s power consumption. Furthermore, they provide insights on how to set the LPM rate-levels in practice for energy-efficient DSL operation. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.