Xbox One New PS4 and Xbox One Game Consoles: A Mixed Bag for Energy Efficiency

[diamondback8]

Are you the kind of gamer who likes to tingle around about energy efficiency in consoles? Check this one out.


According to Huffington Post,

The Natural Resources Defense Council has just completed rigorous measurements of the power use of the newly released U.S. versions of the Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft Xbox One. We found that the new models have made substantial progress on energy efficiency compared to their predecessors, the PS3 and Xbox 360. But despite these power-saving advances, the new consoles' higher performance and new features result in up to three times higher annual energy consumption than their predecessors.

What does this mean? It means that despite the new consoles using power efficiently, it'll actually use more in total. More power is needed to play video games, to use apps like Netflix, to keep up with the demand and more.

How much energy do these devices consume annually? – After applying a typical usage pattern to these power measurements, NRDC found the Xbox One uses more energy per year than the PS4 due to its very high connected standby power level, the mode where the boxes reside for most of the day. This “always listening” feature is responsible for almost half of the Xbox One’s annual energy use and consumes more electricity annually than the 50-inch TV to which it might be connected. Given Microsoft’s recent release of its “carbon fee playbook” about its leadership in the area of reducing company-wide carbon emissions, we anticipate the company will make it a priority in future updates for the voice recognition feature to use a lot less power when no one is home or likely to use the console.

My thoughts on these? Well, unless you're the type who doesn't have to worry about energy consumption month after month, this does open a lot of realizations about the energy we pay for a month. It gives us a good idea on whether the new consoles really do their thing in saving us energy. It's still too early to tell but in time, we may see improvements of energy consumption PS4 and Xbox One are doing.

Source: Huffington Post

 

[Gringo]

It would be nice if there was a setting for the Xbox to turn itself completely off if it is in standby mode at say 1100pm. The bring itself back to standby mode at 6 or 7am. Of course making the times user adjustable. My coffee maker can do it why not the Xbox?

 

[KN1GHTMARE]

I don't think I've powered down my console since launch...I should probably watch my back, I hear environmentalist can get violent.

 

[Outrun]

It would be nice if there was a setting for the Xbox to turn itself completely off if it is in standby mode at say 1100pm. The bring itself back to standby mode at 6 or 7am. Of course making the times user adjustable.

This would've been cool to have. Some devices that aren't as advanced as the Xbox One actually have such a feature. I think even the Leap Frog-type things have where it cuts off at certain time (which is something I would've liked for game consoles when my nephew plays).

My coffee maker can do it why not the Xbox?

Because you coffee maker isn't the One device you need in your living room. Maybe if you duct taped it to your X1 or something lol

 

[Derek H]

I wish i could say xbox fully turn off.

 

[sillylucy]

I really don't think of my consoles as being energy efficient because I am always on them. I just recycle and do other things in my daily life to make up for it. I turn off all of the lights in my house and conserve water. I feel like it evens out with my gaming habits.

 

[heavensdevil]

With the kind of hardware they're running I'm not suprised about the higher power consumption. I'l make my decision after I've received my utility bill this month whether I'll game less or keep on as it is.

 

[thedoodseven]

I don't think I've powered down my console since launch...I should probably watch my back, I hear environmentalist can get violent.

Yeah men. You gotta be watching your back. Global warming people can sometimes, well, get so violent to the point that they'll smack you down. What more environmentalist? "Xbox One is ruining our power reserves! Bring it down!" But yeah, you gotta be careful XD That, or you just said that sarcastically. Either way, we'll just have to be careful. Hehe, but hey, it makes more money for the electric company that provides us electricity, so yeah, we pay and we get power. End of story.

 

[spark_777]

I just play only a few hours a day, so I'm not too worried. I am worried about some of my other friends though, who play like 6-7 hours a day or more. I just wonder what kind of bills they have just keeping their consoles on for many hours.

 

[thecreed4life]

It's expected. I didn't think the PS4 and Xbox One were gonna be power-efficient fully. Maybe in future consoles, they'll figure it out, but for now, it's still gonna consume a lot. Unless you just play a few hours a day, expect that bill to go up guys.

 

[thedoodseven]

I just play only a few hours a day, so I'm not too worried. I am worried about some of my other friends though, who play like 6-7 hours a day or more. I just wonder what kind of bills they have just keeping their consoles on for many hours.

Same here. But then there are times I don't play the console at all, so I'm not too worried about this thing with power efficiency. No need to worry at all. I can be worried about PC gaming though... I play it more than the consoles these days XD

 

[spark_777]

Same here. So we all gotta be careful with how much power we spend with these new consoles 'cuz you know, it can raise the bill up a bit. But then again, we don't worry too much right? We just play and play till we get tired.

 

[diamondback8]

Let's see with the future models. Maybe Sony and Microsoft can figure it all out and make them future models more power-efficient. But it does give us a good sign that the PS4 and Xbox One are a bit more power-efficient than the current-gen consoles. We'll have to see in the future.

 

[Dom0411]

I haven't been using my Xbox One for the past two weeks. I've been busy traveling and working (Yes, I have work even on holidays). Well, I've seen a decrease on my bill for this month. I guess using it just for limited hours will keep my expenses at a lower rate.

 

[sidd230]

I don't think I've powered down my console since launch...I should probably watch my back, I hear environmentalist can get violent.

Insert look of disapproval here.

Have you heard of this glorious world called outside? I heard the graphics are great.

 

[heavensdevil]

The Xbox One's standby power consumption is about 10 watts while the PS4 is 8.8 watts. These don't look very energy consuming so it shouldn't be a problem even if you don't shut down the consoles completely. It's only assumption since everyone uses them differently, to have an annual consumption study seemed too soon.

 

[ragnafable11]

The Xbox One's standby power consumption is about 10 watts while the PS4 is 8.8 watts. These don't look very energy consuming so it shouldn't be a problem even if you don't shut down the consoles completely. It's only assumption since everyone uses them differently, to have an annual consumption study seemed too soon.

I agree. That's why I use my Xbox one to a max of 4 hours a day.

 

[marthyrocks]

Insert look of disapproval here.

Have you heard of this glorious world called outside? I heard the graphics are great.

XD hahahahahahaha. Oh man, you got me right there. It sort of makes me laugh when I look at your avatar and think, "Are you in Terraria or Starbound?" and then you mention the world called "Outside". Yeah, graphics are great. Best part? You don't have to power down at all XD

 

[spark_777]

Insert look of disapproval here.

Have you heard of this glorious world called outside? I heard the graphics are great.

It's not just the graphics that are great: even the audio. It's super-duper Mother Nature-powered sound. It's so clear that the quality increases. It's also got the best produced graphics. It bypasses 1080p. It bypasses 4K. No, it's INFINITELY RETINA IN NATURE! (Okay, what the heck did I just say?! XD)

 

[diamondback8]

The Xbox One's standby power consumption is about 10 watts while the PS4 is 8.8 watts. These don't look very energy consuming so it shouldn't be a problem even if you don't shut down the consoles completely. It's only assumption since everyone uses them differently, to have an annual consumption study seemed too soon.

Let's see what happens in the next few months. If it's still concluded that the power consumption is high, then yeah, these consoles are definitely power consuming. But future models may prove us wrong,.