We’re sure there are more than a few of us who leave our electronic devices on standby, like our television, microwave ovens, consoles, computers, and so on. However it seems that by doing so, it could lead you to rack up a hefty electricity bill at the end of the month, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, who has recently released an infographic that shows that standby modes for the Xbox One and the PS4 could end up costing Americans $1 billion per year, or $400 million in connected standby modes.
Of course this figure is based on the assumption that everyone has replaced their previous-gen consoles with new consoles, so perhaps the figure might be exaggerated. However at the same time it does highlight how the newer consoles are using more power than their predecessors or other devices. For example it was found that the new consoles consume anywhere between 30-45 times more power streaming a 1080p movie compared to devices like the Apple TV or Google Chromecast.
However their findings do note that Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles do fare better in terms of power consumption compared to their predecessors. For example both the PS3 and Xbox 360 that was launched in 2007 consumed more than 150 watts of power. However with the new consoles, they only consume over 100 watts and under 150 watts, making them slightly more efficient.
We expect that with future iterations of the console, Microsoft and Sony will eventually find ways to make them even more efficient while maintaining the performance of either device. In any case this is something worth taking into consideration, especially if you don’t particularly enjoy high electricity bills at the end of the month.