When it comes to buying a game console, energy efficiency is certain to be about at the bottom of a shopper’s list of priorities.
But a new study from the Electric Power Research Institute shows that there is a difference — and sometimes a huge difference — in the amount of energy game systems use.
Testing how much power each of the three most popular game platforms use during one hour of play on EA Sports’ Madden 360, EPRI found that the Nintendo Wii is the most energy efficient console, using just one-sixth the power of the Sony Playstation 3 or the Microsoft Xbox 360.
“Obviously there are many considerations when looking at a gaming system and we’re only talking about energy use,” Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Power Delivery & Utilization for EPRI, said in a statement. “There are also tradeoffs associated with graphics and speed that drive higher energy use and consumers will need to factor those elements in as well. The more graphically intensive systems will, by design, require more energy.”