That’s how much power your game console uses
Just like your other devices, your game console also uses power and you have standby consumption if you leave it on standby. But energy is also used when appliances are on standby. In the long term, your energy bill can still rise considerably.
In this article we list the consumption of the Playstation 4 and 5, the Xbox S and X series and the Nintendo Switch OLED. The electricity price is currently about € 0.63 per kWh. Based on that, we look at what this means for you with a year of power consumption with your game console.
PlayStation 4
The Playstation 4 uses a maximum of 150 watts per hour while gaming. That doesn’t seem like much at first, but if you play for 3 hours every day, you will have to pay about € 103 annually for the electricity. If you put the Playstation 4 in rest mode (via Settings -> System -> Energy saving), it will only consume 7.8 watts per hour.
Still, it’s better to turn it off when you’re not using it, because if you have it in rest mode for the rest of the time in addition to those 3 hours of gaming, it will cost you almost 38 euros. You could have spent that on something else at the touch of a button!
PlayStation 5
The PS5 has a greater maximum consumption than the PS4, namely 200 watts. As a result, gaming for three hours a day with this console will cost you no less than € 138 on an annual basis. In rest mode, it does a lot better than its predecessor. Leaving it in rest mode for the rest of the year when you are not using it (21 hours a day) will cost you a total of 13 kWh and you only pay 8 euros for that.
Xbox Series S
The Xbox Series S has a slightly higher maximum consumption than the PS4, namely 160 watts. That is why it is slightly more expensive than its counterpart in terms of power consumption, namely € 110 if you game for 3 hours every day. In standby mode, it uses a lot less watts than the PS4, 5.2 watts per hour compared to 7.8. That will cost you about 25 euros on an annual basis (slumbering for 21 hours a day instead of turning it off). The Xbox Series S is therefore less efficient in standby mode than the PS5.
Xbox Series X
With the latest Xbox, the Series X, we see the same maximum power consumption as with the Playstation 5, namely 200 Watt. The standby mode is a lot less durable than with the PS5. That will cost you 6.8 watts per hour. So if you game for 3 hours every day for a year and then put it in sleep mode, this will cost you about 32 euros.
Nintendo Switch OLED
When it comes to saving energy, there is one console that stands out: the Nintendo Switch OLED. This game console has a maximum consumption of only 6 watts. That is almost as much as the sleep mode of the PS4, Xbox Series S and X and therefore only costs € 4! In sleep mode, this device is completely cheap, because then it consumes a maximum of 0.5 watts per hour. If you have it in sleep mode for 21 hours in addition to gaming for 3 hours a day every year, the sleep mode will only cost you just over 2 euros.
Turn off game console
By putting your game console in sleep mode, you can quickly save quite a bit of money. But it’s even better to turn it off completely when you’re not using it. The console then uses almost no power at all, making your energy bill even lower. You read that right: almost. Because even if your console is switched off, there is still a very small amount of energy consumption. But this is a lot less than in sleep mode. If you pull the plug, you can be sure that there is no energy consumption.
In this article we assumed an electricity price of € 0.63. Comparing your energy is a useful option to check whether you pay less for your electricity with another energy supplier. This way you can continue to play carefree.
