MoreThe Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) tested
the three top-selling video game consoles sold in the United States,
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. The institute wondered if there was a
significant difference in the amount of power that such machines consumed while
in use.
“We included only a small sample of the many gaming systems available, but it reveals that the differences in energy use can be significant,” said Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Power Delivery & Utilization for EPRI. “With the holiday shopping season in full swing, now is a good time to consider this factor.” The researchers only looked at energy consumption and no other factors were judged. In other words, graphic quality or game speed was not factored in. Also, the sample size was small. According to the Nielsen Company in a report released in 2006, heavy game players account for nearly 75 percent of operators and they operate their machines on average for nearly six hours per day. EPRI used EA Sports' Madden 2011 football game as a comparison test as the game is available for all three systems. The tests showed that the Wii used an average of 13.7 watts, the PlayStation 3 used an average of 84.8 watts while the Xbox 360 used and average of 87.9 watts. All three systems were found to use less power than earlier versions.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the power that is consumed by various electrical devices in their homes and at their offices. People are using such knowledge as they purchase products from lighting to computers to televisions. Energy conservation is being practiced in all corners of the country.
“We included only a small sample of the many gaming systems available, but it reveals that the differences in energy use can be significant,” said Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Power Delivery & Utilization for EPRI. “With the holiday shopping season in full swing, now is a good time to consider this factor.” The researchers only looked at energy consumption and no other factors were judged. In other words, graphic quality or game speed was not factored in. Also, the sample size was small. According to the Nielsen Company in a report released in 2006, heavy game players account for nearly 75 percent of operators and they operate their machines on average for nearly six hours per day. EPRI used EA Sports' Madden 2011 football game as a comparison test as the game is available for all three systems. The tests showed that the Wii used an average of 13.7 watts, the PlayStation 3 used an average of 84.8 watts while the Xbox 360 used and average of 87.9 watts. All three systems were found to use less power than earlier versions.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the power that is consumed by various electrical devices in their homes and at their offices. People are using such knowledge as they purchase products from lighting to computers to televisions. Energy conservation is being practiced in all corners of the country.
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