Xbox guzzles 10 times more power than Wii
A new Swedish test reveals huge differences in the power used by game consoles. However, TVs are what really rocket electricity bills skywards.
19.03.2010
Same game – 10 times greater consumption
You can play Guitar Hero on both Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, but in terms of your electricity bill the latter will cost you almost 10 times as much to run.
If you play 10 hours per week, Nintendo Wii will cost EUR 2.42 per year compared with a hefty EUR 22.82 worth of electricity to keep the Xbox running. And these figures exclude the power used by the TV.
The Swedish Energy Agency tested 5 game consoles and discovered that the Nintendo Wii was the winner of the electricity consumption contest. Next most energy efficient were PlayStation 2 and then PlayStation 3, with XBox 360 trailing in last.
> See the test results here.
New models use more power
When it comes to PlayStations, newer does not equal more energy efficient. Both the standard and the Slim versions of PlayStation 3 actually use noticeably more power than their PlayStation 2 equivalents.
Slim models use less power than their bigger brothers, and so the most energy saving PlayStation is the Slim version of PlayStation 2. But which console you choose naturally also depends on which functions you want to have. Newer models offer other games and better graphics.
Over 1 million consoles
New figures compiled by the Danish Consumer Electronics Association show that Danes own 1.6 million game consoles. This adds up to a lot of electricity consumed if they are used for 10 hours a week.
If Danes were to play for 10 hours a week on 1.6 million Nintendo Wiis, this would equate to 14.4 kWh or EUR 3.86 million worth of power.
Conversely, if they were to play on the Xbox the result would be 136 million kWh at a cost of EUR 36.5 million.
TV often the most expensive
Even though there are big differences in the electricity consumed by game consoles, the TV is often the most expensive device when using a console.
Even a small 20 inch LCD TV costs EUR 5.5 per year to run if it is on for 10 hours a week, while a 50 inch plasma screen TV can use up to EUR 63 worth of power.
> Read more about buying TVs here.
How to choose
• Buy a game console with low power consumption (20-50 watts).
• Find a model with Standby consumption of under 2 watts.
> See the power used by consoles here.
Page last updated 19.03.2010