The Microsoft Xbox One and Sony Playstation 4 use at least twice as much energy per year as their predecessors largely because of new features, according to tests by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. The tests found the third major console, the Nintendo Wii U, is an "energy sipper." In the Xbox One’s “instant on” mode and the PS4′s “standby mode,” the consoles remain connected to the Internet by default, which can effectively double their consumption of electricity. As for streaming video through the game consoles, NRDC advises against it: “Don’t stream video with your game console because it requires up to 30 times more energy to play a movie than such devices as a smart TV or an external box like Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV.” The Xbox One uses 15 watts of continuous power so it can be awakened by voice command and the PS4 uses eight watts so its controllers can be charged. In comparison, a desktop computer uses less than two watts in sleep mode. The NRDC isn’t really trying to tell U.S. consumers how to spend their money. Wasting electricity on game consoles that are not being used has other costs. If the consoles were to become even 25% more energy efficient, the NRDC reckons they would still use as much as 11 billion kWh per year of electricity. That amount of electricity requires four 500-megawatt power plants and is enough to power the city of Houston for a full year. The dollar cost of not turning off the game console can be up to $75 a year, nearly double the cost of leaving a PC and monitor turned on 24/7.
GuarinGuarini,
Drew. "PlayStation 4 And Xbox One Are Energy Hogs." Huffington
Post.
18 May 2014. Web. 18 May 2014.
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