An article today from the Natural Resource Defense Council discusses the cost of leaving your console online when not actively playing. According to the report, a staggering fifty percent of all gamers leave their consoles on when not in use. This can lead to some pretty extreme costs, as you can see from the chart at right.
Those of you who are folding at home on your PlayStation 3 are taking the worst hit, swallowing an extra $145 worth of energy costs every year. While we are no cheapskates around here, that is a pretty massive pill to swallow when you are already having to fork out $60 dollars for a single game! Take a look at how much your console is costing you, are you surprised by what you see?
The only console that seems to be even slightly energy conscious is the Wii, but I am assuming that it is because it doesn’t harness near the horsepower of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That said, there is a significant difference between the the low and high ends of the console spectrum.
NRDC recommends that the best way to curb these extreme cost is to simply turn off your console when it is not in use. As simple as that may sound, some insist on leaving their consoles on 24-7. For these unique individuals, they recommend that you activate all of the power saver features that each console offers in its settings. This may be a safe method to not only protect your pocketbook, but the enviroment as well.
Well,I own all three…
Except for folding at home, I can’t see why people would leave their console on. And the big reason why I don’t do folding at home is because of power consumption and system wear.
Otherwise leaving the system on is laziness and a quest for the red ring of death.
I also unplug my console and TV after I’m done playing, I must be saving even more energy and money.
@Sugreev: You’re screwed ;-)
@Douchebag: You’re probably saving at least 20 bucks a month by doing that. Not having the standby lights/power consumption must make a difference.
@Sammy: totally true, unless people are using it for music 24/7, etc. Consoles aren’t computers, they aren’t built to be on all day and night (anymore…)
@Jason,
Actually the Wii was designed for that very thing. They wanted a low power system that could be left on all the time to receive messages, news, etc. It did not work out exactly like they had first thought though.
I have two PS3’s!
@Jason Evangelo: I heard the Ps3 could stay on for 12 hours, not as much as a computer, but pretty impressive for a console.
@Endless_Echo: Actually it CAN stay on 24/7, I’ve seen multiple tests with the PS3’s (various SKU’s) being run for an entire week straight with no adverse effects. PRetty incredible.
Then again, the energy bill probably sucked :-)
How many energy do you use just for keeping the servers online worldwide to read this text? How many energy is used to build just one american car by GM? How many energy is wasted for television crap like priests who collect money on the telephone? How many energy is wasted just to go to war to Iraq? How many energy you will waste for Xmas-lights on your house?
The shrinking to 45nm at the start of 2009 the PS3 won’t consume so much power anymore. Folding on PCs is a waste of energy because you need so much more machines to get to the calculation-power of the PS3 – which already get a Guiness Record Entry for Folding.
My bro leaves his console on 24/7….I have to turn it off for him, wonder the house burns down.
I’m going to have to watch how much I play now.. I might not be able to afford all nighters.. =/