360, PS3 Guzzle Energy Even When Powered Down
Summer and its concomitant power demands are here, but does owning a gaming console cost more than keeping things cool? An Australian consumer company has run the tests to prove it: a PS3 in simple standby mode left on but idle costs almost five times more to run than a refrigerator.
The Xbox 360 followed closely behind on the list of the two most power-hungry machines out of 16 electronic devices tested. To make matters worse, that plasma you're playing your games on ranks almost as badly - it consumes four times as much as "a traditional analogue set."
The take-away message is that devices which go into standby mode can still consume some power - so if you're looking to cut down on your electricity bill this summer, you might want to turn your devices off at the source when not in use rather than let them idle. For the PS3 use the kill switch on the back of the unit, and 360 owners can unplug their power bricks - if the power brick's orange eye is glowing, it could be sucking down dollars.
While the power consumed in standby mode may or may not make a huge dent in your bill, leaving your consoles on entirely is guaranteed to do so. I wonder whether or not PS3 contributions to Folding@Home drop precipitously during summer months?
Turn 'em all off when not in use and your consoles, your checkbook, and your planet will last much longer!
Power bills soaring? Turn off the Playstation: study [Reuters]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, In the News on 9 June 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: electricity, power bills, ps3, xbox 360
Within one hour of its unboxing, The One became the undisputed ruler of Tiny's entire home. Buy this or despair.
OK, so I usually lurk around but I had to comment and correct you real quick. The article does not state that if you leave the ps3 on standby (or "OFF" ) it will consume that much, it says that leaving it ON while not in use would cause such an energy drain. I remember this popping up on ps3fanboy and pulled out my power meter tester, the ps3 only draws like 2 watts on standy and my lcd is 1 watt, and the actual site where the test was done also states that to be small "apartment size" refrigerators. But really who runs their ps3 all year long nonstop like a fridge?
Thanks thatguy, you're absolutely correct about the standby mode clarification. I've updated the post but left the general warning - a lot of folks might not be as aware of their power habits as you are.
I can't help but wonder how folding@home figures into power demands - how much money are folding@ users spending to power their folding PS3s?