Xbox One, PS4 Waste $400 Million Annually in Standby Mode

[roseofbattle]

Xbox One, PS4 Waste $400 Million Annually in Standby Mode

The current generation of video game consoles cost $1 billion to operate annually and $400 million in utility bills while in standby mode, with the Xbox One being the biggest energy user.

Owners of current-gen video game consoles should expect to see their energy bills rise significantly. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit international environmental advocacy group, reported the Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U cost American consumers $1 billion to operate each year. The consoles, particularly the PS4 and the Xbox One, cost $400 million in utility bills annually in standby mode.

NRDC's report is a follow-up to its previous report on the energy use of video game consoles in 2008. The new report has found that the PS4 and Xbox One in particular use the most power; the PS4 and Xbox One consume two to three times more energy each year than the PS3 and Xbox 360. NRDC states this is because of higher power demand in standby mode and the Xbox One's TV viewing mode, which adds 72 watts to TV viewing. Both the PS4 and Xbox One use 30 to 45 times more power to stream a movie than an Apple TV or Google Chromecast.

The report indicated the Xbox One uses the most energy due to the TV viewing mode, and if all Xbox One owners used the console to watch TV, it would add $300 million to yearly energy bills. Even in standby, the Xbox One does not conserve energy well; it consumes nearly half of its annual energy while in standby and continuously draws more than 15 watts waiting for the user to say "Xbox on" to turn it on.

The Xbox One is the main energy consumer, but the PS4 has it beat in one case. When powered on, the PS4 draws more energy than the Xbox One because the PS4 uses more power than necessary to keep USB ports active, the NRDC stated.

While the PS4 and Xbox One consume significantly more energy than their predecessors, the Wii U actually consumes slightly less energy than the Wii. NRDC noted that compared to the PS4 and Xbox One, the Wii U is an "energy sipper."

NRDC recommends users be able to easily opt out of "Instant On" voice command features through the initial setup menu. The organization will make recommendations to console manufacturers to reduce electricity consumption and save consumers $250 million annually.

Source: (2) [http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/default.asp]


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[Weaver]

My friend said his electricity bill went up $20 a month since he got his PS4. I keep all my stuff on a power bar and shut the power bar off when not using it.

 

[VoidOfOne]

I think I just cemented my decision to not get an XBox 1. I got too much to pay for as it stands...

 

[Casual Shinji]

Maybe a stupid question, but who the hell leaves their consoles on in standby mode? It takes at best 10 seconds for it to boot up. Or is it just for the sake of voice activating it?

Anyway, I never leave anything on, even my router gets switched off at night.

 

[Roxas1359]

My friend said his electricity bill went up $20 a month since he got his PS4. I keep all my stuff on a power bar and shut the power bar off when not using it.

That's pretty much what I do as well. Mainly I've been doing that for years because I can hear the AC "hum" that the systems have at night when plugged in. PS2 was the worst offender of that buzz for me. Nowadays I always unplug all my consoles before going to bed, so that they aren't in standby mode or buzzing while I sleep.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Well that's an eye opener. My PS3 has been in standby mode for most of the last 6 months. I thought the energy consumption was supposed to be next to nothing in standby mode.

 

[luvd1]

The only thing that's on in this house at night is the router, boiler, bedside clock and landline. Who leaves thing on standby? People who don't pay the house bills no doubt.

 

[Jadak]

Maybe a stupid question, but who the hell leaves their consoles on in standby mode? It takes at best 10 seconds for it to boot up. Or is it just for the sake of voice activating it?

Anyway, I never leave anything on, even my router gets switched off at night.

Well firstly, at least with the XBox One it can be closer to 40 seconds, as opposed to the 2-3 from standby.

But anyways, it's a prompt during setup if you're in Europe (otherwise it's the default setting and you need to go into power settings). It's not like people are deliberately choosing 'standby' every time they walk away, but rather a case of when you turn it off, it doesn't go 'off', but into standby mode.

So other than those who deliberately turn off the power bar to cut power when they walk away, it's not something people will really think about when they 'turn it off' and leave.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

** BREAKING NEWS, THIS JUST IN: ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES USE ELECTRICITY WHEN ON **

While it's fun to laugh at consoles, I leave my massive computer on all night usually, and it's guaranteed a bigger power hog. I'm sure I'm not alone here, either.

 

[Gorrath]

** BREAKING NEWS, THIS JUST IN: ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES USE ELECTRICITY WHEN ON **

While it's fun to laugh at consoles, I leave my massive computer on all night usually, and it's guaranteed a bigger power hog. I'm sure I'm not alone here, either.

You're not, I run several servers and my full rig at all times because I provide persistent playing worlds for several games. I admit I'm part of the problem, though I try to be good about power in other areas where I can.

 

[geizr]

These numbers are absolutely shocking and astounding. It's enough to make you march on the Capital and demand some kind of legislation to prevent this kind of grotesque excessive expense levied on consumers. Then taking two shits to divide by population/market penetration numbers, one finds that this works out to each household adding maybe $3-5 to its YEARLY electric bill. Considering most people's electric bill is somewhere in the several tens of dollars to a couple hundred dollars MONTHLY, I doubt anyone will notice, unless they happen to read the report or this article.

ADDENDUM: In seriousness, yes, we should be more conscientious of our growing use of electric power as society progresses technologically, but we need to also have some perspective on the rate of that growth and what its actual effects are, rather than just throwing around sensationally large numbers. Further, there needs to be better dialog on means of effectively managing the balance among the growth of power consumption, the growth of power production/distribution capacity, stability, and sustainability, and the effects on the environment. Society is going to progress technologically. We are going to have increasing demands for electric power. The question is how to go about it while ensuring a stable and sustainable future. Without electric power, modern society collapses. Without a supportive environment, we die. The problem isn't the "what"; it's the "how".

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I love how the Wii U is more energy efficient than the Wii...Anyway, I have all of my consoles on a powerbar which I suppose I should start shutting off. I didn't realize how vampiric these consoles are. I still have a PS2 hooked up too and am curious about how much power it's currently using at the moment sitting idol...

 

[kanetsb]

Well... I'm just gonna go unplug my ps4 now.

Why would you have it plugged in? The next game is coming out in a month or so...

 

[Brian Tams]

"Buy a Wii U! Its power friendly!"

--Nintendo, if it had a marketer with a brain

Anyways, I'm more interested in the leap between the PS3 and PS4, as well as the 360 and XB1, where as a system like Wii U which, and let's be reasonable here, is a great deal more powerful than the Wii managed to decrease power consumption. Hmmm.

 

[Zipa]

Well the PS4 gives you the option to put it in standby or just turn it off fully when you turn it off from the main menu.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Almost any electronic device will use power even though you think it's off. The transformer/PSU always has a little current going through that ends up as waste heat, with more energy being wasted for circuits adding convenience like remote control power on or the voice control thing, and much more when the device is on of course. While Intel and AMD are trying to make CPUs and chipsets with better performance per watt ratios, a jump up in power with a new console generation will usually show more power usage.

The xbox tv thing, though, shows just how out of touch companies are with conserving resources. Why do we need to waste an extra 72 watts watching tv? To talk to friends? To wait for them to come online to play a game? That's what skype and similar services are for and you can get that stuff on your phone now to save even more juice, compared to having a desktop, laptop or console sitting there putting out more heat. Other things like those coffee makers that can be set to run in the morning just run up your bill when you could just get in the routine of making coffee as the first part of your morning ritual.

This is why I got a multi-switch power strip with a master off button for my PC. The monitor, two external drives, and speakers along the tower and any charger I got sitting on the desk all add up over time. Same thing with my entertainment center, It has rack mount multi-switch power strip going to my TV, amp, PS3, PS2, Wii and (until a year ago) 360. I don't really loose any convenience since I have to grab controllers and remotes from the drawers right next to my audio rack. Your best bet with any piece of techno crap in your home is to put it on a power strip with a switch or unplug it entirely and only leave it plugged in if it something like a DVR, modem/router/AP, fridge, or alarm clock.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

This maybe crazy, but just turn off your console when your not using it - then unplug it. You never know, it might just work. Granted for the xb1 it will make the saying "xbox on" feature redundant. But its better to save that money on wasted electricity and can use it for a new game or something instead.

I guess the XB1 costs more on standby due to kinect. But then this wont be an issue when the kinectless one is released.

 

[Roxas1359]

I still have a PS2 hooked up too and am curious about how much power it's currently using at the moment sitting idol...

Depends on which model you have. When on, the fat original PS2 uses about 32 watts, while the slim PS2 uses only about 23 watts. In standby mode for the Slim model, it's only 1.2 watts, while the original PS2 uses about 2.7 watts. But it depends on the reviewers it seems, as some people are saying that the slim PS2 takes 7.0 watts when in standby...which seems incredibly wrong. Of course, I've only seen one review claiming that to be the case.
The GameCube in comparison uses 23 watts when in use, and is 0.10 watts in standby it seems.