Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 guzzling electricity

[mrhaines]

A new report shows that the Playstation 3 consumes 5 times the energy of your fridge, even when not in use! Do yourself a favour, turn off the power bar it is plugged into.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080603/wr_nm/power_electronics_study_dc

[Ryudo]

A new report shows that the Playstation 3 consumes 5 times the energy of your fridge

Well duh it's a grill!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Hh3tBdHwM

[mrhaines]

I just heard that the Canadian government is moving to limit the amount of electricity that electronics can use while in "standby" mode. Hopefully the U.S. follows suit.

[APSwesthome]

i wonder what the 360 does, i'll get a hold of a volt-o-meter, or what ever-you-call-it, 'cus I can't find any sats or figures online...

seems it might be pretty inefficient, with all the over heating problems and such??

p.s. Canada, love your site...

[tamtamg]

I'm sorry, but my gut instincts says this report is wrong. theres no way a ps3 or any consumer electronic device is pulling more energy a year in stand by mode than a refrigerator. A refrigerator is a large appliance that requires large amounts of energy to keep the compressor running in order to keep the fridge cold. Just think of it in terms of thermodynamics, where the amount of warm air produced is proportional to the amount of energy used (i know not the best way to think of it, because the ps3 uses electricity to create radio signals(bluetooth) as well). A fridge is constantly giving off warm air from the rear, where as the ps3 is cool during stand by mode. Thus the amount of electricity being converted to heat energy is far greater for the fridge than the ps3. Now when the ps3 is on however, its a different story, because the air coming out of the ps3 is hot enough to pop popcorn. I could be completely off base here, please feel free to refute me, but i think my instincts are correct on this. I'd like to see the actual report and see how the testing was done and what type of fridge was used.

EDIT:
i think this is case of poor wording and/or journalism on rueter's part. the article says: "Our tests found that leaving a Playstation 3 ON while not in use would cost almost... five times more than it would take to run a refrigerator for the same yearly period". this makes the reader think that leaving the PS3 plugged in even in stand by mode will cost the consumer big bucks rather than leaving the PS3 ON, as in green light instead of red light on the power indicator. If the journalist knew any better, he/she would note that PS3 spend most of there time in standby mode which draws little electricty.but on the serious though, i really think this is just another time where journalist have no idea what they're talking about and are just writing BS. So really people, don't take everything you read online as true, even if its from the AP or rueters.

heres the actual data:

http://www.choice.com.au/files/f132983.jpg

the (a) denotes standby modes.

i should note that a energy star rated side by side fridge draws at a max 620 kWh. which at the charts conversion of $.15 per kWh is about $93 dollars a year

[tamtamg]

I just heard that the Canadian government is moving to limit the amount of electricity that electronics can use while in "standby" mode. Hopefully the U.S. follows suit.

wow, really what's the point? see above data, a minuscule amount of energy is being used. kind of overkill in my opinion. Guess the canadian gov. should start regulating amount of electricity "personal massagers" use then, because i'm 99.9% certain they use more electricity.

Also, i hope the US gov. does not follow suit, as we have larger issues at hand like the crap economy, heath care, and bringing our boys home.

[GoNZooo]

I can't believe the PS3 is using more electricity than the 360. The power brick, extreme heat and the loudness of the 360 kind of gave me the impression it was the worst, in some way.

[jae]

well, having paid electricity bills for the past 2 years and having owned a wii, then a ps3, i haven't noticed a bump in my monthly costs. this despite the fact i play the ps3 more than i ever played the wii. nowhere near the ~$19/month that chart suggests, if any at all.

[stubadub]

well, having paid electricity bills for the past 2 years and having owned a wii, then a ps3, i haven't noticed a bump in my monthly costs. this despite the fact i play the ps3 more than i ever played the wii. nowhere near the ~$19/month that chart suggests, if any at all.

I was thinking exactly the same thing.

[dolson]

I have a Kill-A-Watt, so if I remember tonight, I'll measure my PS3. I have the 40GB model though, which is supposed to use less power.

I can't believe the PS3 is using more electricity than the 360. The power brick, extreme heat and the loudness of the 360 kind of gave me the impression it was the worst, in some way.

Poor hardware design != power consumption, apparently.

[burgerboy06]

its come to the point at which power usage is on labels at stores. Its definitely a buying factor.

[mrhaines]

wow, really what's the point? see above data, a minuscule amount of energy is being used. kind of overkill in my opinion. Guess the canadian gov. should start regulating amount of electricity "personal massagers" use then, because i'm 99.9% certain they use more electricity.

Also, i hope the US gov. does not follow suit, as we have larger issues at hand like the crap economy, heath care, and bringing our boys home.

The problem is, you add up a small amount over a large population and you have a significant waste. It is small changes like this that just make sense. No reason not to do it, so why not.

Its going to come to the point when we will have to re-evaluate how we entertain ourselves in light of growing pressures for energy and petroleum. What astounds me is how much of North American entertainment requires a plug. Is it possible to be an environmentalist and a gaming geek?

I guess the first thing that anyone can do is just turn the powerstrip off...especially if you have an HDTV!

Also, check out the comment on the digg story for testimonials:

http://digg.com/hardware/Power_Bills_Soaring_Turn_Off_The_Playstation_Study _2

[AbsoluteMayheM]

If people really cared about power issues they would be demanding solar, wind and geothermal power .. dare I say nucular .. to offset the requirements for petroleum depedancies.

Its an over the top speculation of power consumption based on complete unrealistic product use. The chat assumes an entire year usage at idle and gaming. Common sense should prevail here. Its no different than turning off lights or TVs when not in use.

I completely hate this whole "petroleum depedancy" issue .. I mean 80% of the products I buy impact petruleum consumption because the products are wrapped in plastic or come in a plastic bag or has oil based paint in the packaging. Does this mean Cruise ships that run on disel should be band? Does this mean that transport trucks should have solar powered panels on their trailers feeding into a power grid to offset their diesl consumption.

I mean there is always an impact, look at the open pit mining required to produce materials for high effeciency batteries, look at the shipping impacts and deisl usuage to get those materials to the factorys to make the batterys. Should they be shipping all the export china products to the USA on gigantic sale boats?

I think the day after the last barrel of oil is produced we might consider curbing the petroleum diet.

sorry for the rant .. lol

-MayheM

[dolson]

If people really cared about power issues they would be demanding solar, wind and geothermal power .. dare I say nucular .. to offset the requirements for petroleum depedancies.

Its an over the top speculation of power consumption based on complete unrealistic product use. The chat assumes an entire year usage at idle and gaming. Common sense should prevail here. Its no different than turning off lights or TVs when not in use.

I completely hate this whole "petroleum depedancy" issue .. I mean 80% of the products I buy impact petruleum consumption because the products are wrapped in plastic or come in a plastic bag or has oil based paint in the packaging. Does this mean Cruise ships that run on disel should be band? Does this mean that transport trucks should have solar powered panels on their trailers feeding into a power grid to offset their diesl consumption.

I mean there is always an impact, look at the open pit mining required to produce materials for high effeciency batteries, look at the shipping impacts and deisl usuage to get those materials to the factorys to make the batterys. Should they be shipping all the export china products to the USA on gigantic sale boats?

I think the day after the last barrel of oil is produced we might consider curbing the petroleum diet.

sorry for the rant .. lol

-MayheM

Uh, are you one of the people who says it's no big deal, then turns around and bitches at the rising gas prices, blaming it on so-called greedy oil companies?

We're at peak oil, and from here on out, the price will continue to rise, and before too long, the western way of life is going to be totally fucked. We're going to be right back where we were not long ago, focusing on a local economy.

There's really not much that can be done now to stop it, short of radical changes implemented extremely quickly by the government, and ignorant people just won't let that happen, even if it means saving the planet and our way of life. It's sad, but it's where we're heading.

[mrhaines]

Uh, are you one of the people who says it's no big deal, then turns around and bitches at the rising gas prices, blaming it on so-called greedy oil companies?

We're at peak oil, and from here on out, the price will continue to rise, and before too long, the western way of life is going to be totally fucked. We're going to be right back where we were not long ago, focusing on a local economy.

There's really not much that can be done now to stop it, short of radical changes implemented extremely quickly by the government, and ignorant people just won't let that happen, even if it means saving the planet and our way of life. It's sad, but it's where we're heading.

I think that a lot of us care about it but find that the problem is really bigger than ourselves. In many ways, I find myself playing videogames like Age of Conan so I can stop thinking about these problems for a few minutes each day. I guess it is just a matter of as another poster said using common sense (turning off the power strip) being conscious about our purchases (do I really need a 42 inch TV for my bedroom?) and trying to pressure industry change through our purchases and investment (for example buying from companies that are trying to fix world problems).

I appreciate everyones comments though. I am glad that other gamers recognize the issue as well.

[dolson]

I think that a lot of us care about it but find that the problem is really bigger than ourselves. In many ways, I find myself playing videogames like Age of Conan so I can stop thinking about these problems for a few minutes each day. I guess it is just a matter of as another poster said using common sense (turning off the power strip) being conscious about our purchases (do I really need a 42 inch TV for my bedroom?) and trying to pressure industry change through our purchases and investment (for example buying from companies that are trying to fix world problems).

I appreciate everyones comments though. I am glad that other gamers recognize the issue as well.

I might have misread Mayhem's comment.. It's hard to tell what side of the fence he's on, but I'm definitely with you. I think about it a lot, but I also don't see much hope. I try and use less power, but it's not easy when you're accustomed to being so wasteful (at least I was).

I've replaced every incandescent bulb in my house with fluorescent bulbs. The power consumption is much, much less and the bulbs last longer. That's just one small thing that not enough people are doing because the bulbs cost a bit more... It's the fast-food or WalMart mentality of pay less and get more, only in this case you aren't really getting more.

Question - what uses more power, a 40" LCD TV or a 27" tube? I would assume the tube. I haven't looked this up yet, so I don't know. I just thought of the question.

I'll measure my Wii and PS3 and TV tonight to see what they say.

[dolson]

OK I measured my Wii, PS3, and 37" LCD TV.

Results:

Wii uses 1 Watt while WiiConnect24 is OFF (red light), 9 Watts while in standby, with WiiConnect24 ON (yellow/orange light), 17 Watts at the Wii Menu, and 19 Watts while playing Super Mario Galaxy.

The PS3 uses 1 Watt while powered off (red light), 125 Watts while on at the XMB, and anywhere from 114 Watts to 164 Watts during gameplay (Ratchet & Clank Future), averaging around 150 Watts.

The TV used 0 Watts while turned off, and 129 Watts while powered on, with or without any video signal.

I can't measure an Xbox 360, cuz I don't have one, and I don't have a tube TV to measure either.. If anyone else has a Kill-a-Watt and these items, it'd be interesting to see your measurements.