A report into the power consumption of the PS4 and Xbox One has revealed that both next gen consoles drain more electricity than their predecessors. The investigation from the Natural Resources Defense Council showed that the new consoles still require more power than the PS3 and Xbox 360, despite efforts to reduce these elements.
Sony and Microsoft have both worked well to make their machines more energy efficient, However the higher performance and features of the new consoles require around three times more power than the previous generation devices. The PS4 requires roughly twice as much electricity to play a game than the PS3; the Xbox One by contrast sucks up 40% more juice than the Xbox 360. The power output is tripled over time on average.
The findings from this research has shown that annually, power consumption from the PS4 and Xbox One will account for $1 billion worth of electricity bills in the US. This works out at 10-11 billion kilowatt hours worth of power per year, with the equivalent output of four large power plants.
The NRDC claims that although these usage figures are very high, they could have been much worse and the tech firms have done well to reduce them. It should be noted that the PS4 and Xbox One can charge peripheries whilst in standby mode and naturally energy usage varies depending on your circumstances. Using Kinect and other accessories will increase the amount of power your console needs.
To read more into this detailed and interesting report, visit the NRDC blog. We are interested to hear if you have seen an increase in your electricity bill after hours of gameplay on the PS4 or Xbox One, leave us a comment with your thoughts. Are these power sucking consoles worth the extra resources compared to their predecessors?