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.
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
| Console | Watts | PS5 | 50-220* |
|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 45-220* | Xbox Series S | 25-100 |
| Nintendo Switch | 10-18 |
| PS4 Pro | 75-160* |
| PS4 Slim | 55-110 |
| PS4 | 90-150 |
| Xbox One X | 65-180* |
| Xbox One S | 35-90 |
| Xbox One | 70-120 |
| Wii U | 35 |
| PS3 Slim | 85 |
| PS3 Original | 190 |
| Xbox 360 S | 90 |
| Xbox 360 Original | 180 |
| Wii | 40 |
| Playstation Classic | 2.3-2.5 |
| NES Classic Edition | 2.3-2.5 |
| SNES Classic Edition | 2.3-2.5 |
*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
| Mode | Watts |
|---|---|
| PS4 Standby | 10 |
| PS4 Standby (Downloading) | 70 |
| PS4 Idle on Menu | 90 |
| PS4 Idle with Disc | 95 |
| PS4 Blue-Ray | 95 |
| PS4 Netflix | 93 |
| PS4 Game Install | 115 |
| PS4 Gaming | 130-150 |
| PS4 Charging Controller | Plus 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.
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