The Natural Resources Defense Council has written a new report on the power consumption of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. It appears that the two next generation consoles use a lot of energy; notably, the amount of power consumed by consoles is significantly greater than their predecessors, and the streaming programs on the systems use more power than other devices. As a result, users will not only cause more pollution, but will also increase the environmental costs of their home. According to the group, the systems use more energy than the televisions on which they are being played!
“When playing the latest games, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles consume between 160 and more than 200 watts of electricity, which is larger than the consoles of previous generations,” says the report. “That’s more power than the huge 60-inch TV to which it can be connected! The good news is that these consoles consume significantly lower power levels when playing games designed for older consoles and are backward compatible. Entry-level Xbox Series S designed lower power levels during the game than the other three new consoles. “
One of the biggest attractions for next generation consoles is the speed with which they are able to switch between games and applications, thanks to the very low loading speeds. However, it seems that this is a big part of the problem when it comes to energy use. According to the group, streaming TV shows on consoles takes from 30 to 70 watts, which is 10 to 25 times the amount used by dedicated streaming devices like Roku or Amazon Fire Stick.
Gamers can’t do much about the power consumption that occurs during larger games, but there is one thing that Xbox Series X owners can do to make an impact. According to the NRDC, the system is provided with “instant on” enabled in all territories except Europe. When players switch the system to the “energy saving” option, it uses less than one watt of power when not in use.
“Based on the modeling of the NRDC carried out until 2025, this seemingly inconsequential decision by Microsoft could result in the equivalent of a large (500 MW) coal-fired power plant generating annual electricity and cost new Xbox owners in the US about $ 1 billion in electricity bills, “says the report.
It will be interesting to see whether Microsoft and Sony are trying to resolve these issues after the report is released. There is a lot of appeal in the way that next generation platforms are able to run faster and produce better graphics, but it is clear that there has been a small change, both for players and for the environment.
Did you buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X? Are you concerned about potential energy costs? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things about games!