Whether you’re in a country with high electricity bills, just want to reduce your overall spending, or want to help protect the environment (every little bit helps!), you might want to turn your attention to a console. . Energy companies recently called them “vampires” and advised to turn them off completely.
Whether that’s a fair assessment or not, with the global cost of living crisis creeping into every aspect of our lives, and home appliances that are always connected to mains power, many of us I’m trying to tighten my belt. It’s worth investigating what the savings are.
Is the console currently in Instant On mode? Sleep mode? Energy saving mode? Do you even know the difference, or how much does each really cost each month? We can help you!
Check out our guides on console efficiency and energy costs, and how to pay less each month.
Console Power Consumption Comparison – How much power does Switch / Xbox / PlayStation use?
Below are some key stats for each Nintendo Switch model currently on sale, as well as Sony and Microsoft consoles for comparison, and hourly and weekly based on information from the manufacturer and other sources. shows the estimated energy of .
Notes before starting:
Nintendo Switch (base model)
docking
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 7-11W | Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.08 (2 hours per day) |
| play while charging | 15-17W | Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.06 (1 hour per day) |
| streaming media | 6W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.02 (1 hour per day) |
| in the home menu | 3W | <Ā£0.01 | <Ā£0.01 (1 hour per week) |
| sleep mode | 0.3-0.5W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per day) |
| Sleep mode (while charging) | 9.8-12.1W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (1 hour per day) |
| power off | 0.3-0.5W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per day) |
Undock
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| play while charging | 8-9W | Ā£0.03 | Ā£0.06 (2 hours per day) |
| Sleep mode (while charging) | 8-9W | Ā£0.03 | Ā£0.06 (2 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£0.08 (1 hour of playtime per day) ā Ā£0.30 (5 hours of playtime per day)
nintendo switch lite
Since the Switch Lite can’t be docked, how much power it draws while playing games and charging is an important consideration.
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 5-7.5W | Ā£0.03 | Ā£0.05 (2 hours per day) |
| play while charging | 7.5-13.5W | Ā£0.05 | Ā£0.05 (1 hour per day) |
| Sleep mode (while charging) | ~13W | Ā£0.05 | Ā£0.09 (2 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£0.10 (1 hour playtime per day) ā Ā£0.30 (5 hours playtime per day)
Nintendo switch organic EL
Nintendo didn’t power the OLED when charging, but we can assume it’s more or less similar to the base model of the Nintendo Switch. These figures are Nintendo’s, not 3rd party, so take it as you please.
docking
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 6W | Ā£0.02 | Ā£0.04 (2 hours per day) |
| streaming media | 5W | Ā£0.02 | Ā£0.02 (1 hour per day) |
| in the home menu | 3W | Ā£0.01 | <Ā£0.01 (1 hour per week) |
| sleep mode | 0.3-0.5W (WiFi) 2.2W (wired) | <Ā£0.01 (Wi-Fi) Ā£0.01 (wired) | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per day) Ā£0.16 (20 hours per day) |
| power off | 0.3-0.5W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£0.08 (1 hour of playtime per day) ā Ā£0.25 (5 hours of playtime per day)
As a point of comparison, here are the costs of the Xbox Series S/X and PS5 (from Xbox When Sony’s site):
Xbox Series X
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 153W | Ā£0.08 | Ā£1.09 (2 hours per day) |
| streaming | 47W | Ā£0.02 | Ā£0.34 (2 hours per day) |
| instant on mode | 13W | Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.93 (20 hours per day) |
| stand by | 0.5W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per week) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£1.62 (1 hour of playtime per day/instant on) ā Ā£3.61 (5 hours of playtime per day/instant on)
Xbox Series S
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 74W | Ā£0.04 | Ā£0.53 (2 hours per day) |
| streaming | 31W | Ā£0.02 | Ā£0.22 (2 hours per day) |
| instant on mode | 10W | Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.71 (20 hours per day) |
| stand by | 0.4W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.03 (20 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£1.08 (1 hour of playtime per day/instant on) ā Ā£2.00 (5 hours of playtime per day/instant on)
PlayStation 5
| how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| playing the game | 200W | Ā£0.10 | Ā£1.43 (2 hours per day) |
| streaming | 54W | Ā£0.03 | Ā£0.39 (2 hours per day) |
| stand by | 2W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.14 (20 hours per day) |
Average cost per week
- Ā£0.87 (1 hour of playtime per day) ā Ā£3.71 (5 hours of playtime per day)
Switch/Xbox/PlayStation Quick Comparison Chart
Here, we summarize the above information to give you the main points of comparison between the “flagship” consoles from the big three manufacturers.
| console | how to use | energy draw | Price per hour | Estimated cost per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic EL switching | playing the game | 6W | Ā£0.02 | Ā£0.04 (2 hours per day) |
| PS5 | playing the game | 200W | Ā£0.10 | Ā£1.43 (2 hours per day) |
| Xbox Series X | playing the game | 153W | Ā£0.08 | Ā£1.09 (2 hours per day) |
| Organic EL switching | Standby/Sleep | 0.3-0.5W (WiFi) 2.2W (wired) | <Ā£0.01 (Wi-Fi) Ā£0.01 (wired) | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per day) Ā£0.16 (20 hours per day) |
| PS5 | Standby/Sleep | 2W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.14 (20 hours per day) |
| Xbox Series X | Standby/Sleep | 0.5W | <Ā£0.01 | Ā£0.04 (20 hours per week) |
Tips to Reduce Switch Power Consumption and Increase Efficiency
As you can see (and as you’d expect from a smaller mobile console), the Switch is the least power hungry of the current crop of consoles when it comes to playing games, and the energy cost to run it is higher. Modest. For other consoles and more power-hungry consumer electronics ā it might give you a little peace of mind.
but little by little do Here are some tips to make your switch as power efficient as possible.
- If possible, charge your Switch with a dock when it’s off and not in play. Charging is much faster.
- Turn off the switch instead of putting it in sleep mode (but you can’t access quick resume or downloads when it’s off).
- If you use wired internet on your OLED, be sure to turn on the “Low Power Consumption” option.
- reduce brightness
- Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth
- With Joy-Con attached
- Fully charge the Switch before using it handheld
- Upgrade your Switch to a new, more efficient model
realistically you are not going to save Large scale You can increase the amount by tweaking the settings and playing less. Even with a relatively demanding OLED with wired internet, you can save a few pennies here and there.
but we very The Xbox Series S and X in instant-on mode can draw about the same power as the Switch while it’s charging, so it’s a good idea to check your Xbox’s energy saving settings. When playing Zelda. For more information, check out our sister site, Pure Xbox..
Similarly, for the PS5, working less and using power-saving options could potentially cut those huge power bills. If you own all three consoles, it could cost you around Ā£5 a week just to run in the background!
Do you have any handy tips to combat rising utility bills? How do you feel about the energy usage of the Switch and other consoles? Is there anything Nintendo can do to help? Let us know in the comments!
