The Natural Resources Defense Council has released a new report on the power consumption of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. It appears that the two next-gen consoles are consuming a significant amount of power; Notably, the amount of power consumed by the consoles is significantly higher than their predecessors, and streaming shows on the systems consumes more power than other devices. As a result, users will not only cause more pollution, but will also increase their environmental costs in the home. According to the group, the systems actually consume more energy than the televisions on which they are played!
“When playing the latest games, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles consume between 160 and 200 watts of electricity, which is more than previous generation consoles,” the report said. “That’s more power than the massive 60-inch TV it plugs into uses! The good news is that these consoles use significantly less power when playing games designed for older consoles and backward compatible. Lower power levels during playing games than the other three new consoles. “
One of the biggest draws of the next-gen consoles is how quickly they can switch between games and apps, thanks to the greatly reduced loading speeds. However, it seems like this is a big part of the problem when it comes to energy consumption. According to the group, streaming TV shows on consoles costs 30 to 70 watts, which is 10 to 25 times as much as through dedicated streaming devices such as Roku or Amazon Fire Stick.
Gamers can’t do much about the power consumption that takes place while playing larger games, but there’s one thing Xbox Series X owners can do to make an impact. According to the NRDC, the system comes with “instant on” enabled in all areas except Europe. When players switch the system to the “power saving” option, it consumes less than a single watt of energy when not in use.
Based on the NRDC models running through 2025, this seemingly inconsistent decision by Microsoft could result in the annual electricity generation equivalent of a large (500 MW) coal plant and new US Xbox owners about $ 1 billion in electricity costs, “the report reads.
It will be interesting to see if Microsoft and Sony try to address these issues after the report is released. There’s a lot of appeal in how next-gen platforms can run faster and produce better graphics, but it’s clear there has been a bit of a trade-off, both for players and the environment.
Have you bought 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 @Marcdachamp to talk about gaming!