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Electricity usage of a Game Console

Game consoles have become a standard entertainment device in many homes, allowing people to play games, go online, watch movies or stream videos. But how much energy does a game console use? Use the following console energy calculator to find out, we estimate that an average video game console will use around 90 watts when it is being actively used for gaming, and 1-2 watts during standby mode when the console is off but plugged in. For other uses like video and downloads, most consoles use in the 50-70 watt range.

Click calculate to find the energy consumption of an average game console using 90 Watts for 3 hours a day @ $0.10 per kWh, check the chart below and modify the calculator for your console.

Cost Per Hour:

Cost Per Day:

Cost Per Month:

Cost Per Year:

kWh Per Day:

Hours Used Per Day:

Power Use (Watts):

Price (kWh):

Hours Used Per Day: Enter how many hours the device is being used on average per day, if the power consumption is lower than 1 hour per day enter as a decimal. (For example: 30 minutes per day is 0.5)

Power Use (Watts): Enter the average power consumption of the device in watts.

Price (kWh): Enter the cost you are paying on average per kilowatt hour, our caculators use the default value of 0.10 or 10 cents. To find an exact price check your electricity bill or take a look at Global Electricity Prices.

Electricity Usage of Game Consoles

ConsoleWatts
PS550-220*
Xbox Series X45-220*
Xbox Series S25-100
Nintendo Switch10-18
PS4 Pro75-160*
PS4 Slim55-110
PS490-150
Xbox One X65-180*
Xbox One S35-90
Xbox One70-120
Wii U35
PS3 Slim85
PS3 Original190
Xbox 360 S90
Xbox 360 Original180
Wii40
Playstation Classic2.3-2.5
NES Classic Edition2.3-2.5
SNES Classic Edition2.3-2.5

*Potential to use more energy in the future with newer more demanding games.

Testing by arstechnica for original PS4 consoles showed that PS4 energy use was 10 watts on standby and up to 150 watts during gaming.

PS4 Energy Usage

ModeWatts
PS4 Standby10
PS4 Standby (Downloading)70
PS4 Idle on Menu90
PS4 Idle with Disc95
PS4 Blue-Ray95
PS4 Netflix93
PS4 Game Install115
PS4 Gaming130-150
PS4 Charging ControllerPlus 4 watts

Nintendo consoles typically have the lowest power consumption, at the cost of graphical fidelity compared to similar generation consoles. Older console designs tend to use more power compared to newer models of the same console. Newer consoles targeting 4k resolution and ray tracing, like the Playstation 5 or the Xbox Series X may use significantly more power, in some cases over 200 watts for certain games.