PlayStation 3: same power usage as five refridgerators
by Nick Doerr 
{ Jun 6th 2008 at 1:00AM }
Would you rather have your PS3, or five medium-sized refrigerators? We ask because, it seems, they use the same amount of energy. According to Australian consumer group Choice, the PS3 consumes more energy than five fridges. Basically, using a fridge costs roughly $50 per year, whereas the PS3 will use $250, even if it's just turned on and not in use. The PS3 also uses ten times as much energy as the Wii, the study shows. It's an interesting study, but who really leaves their PS3 on all year? You've got to keep the fridge on, but the PS3 might not get used at all some days. Take the results with a grain of salt, since it really ought to vary between each individual.
[via PS3Forums]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Daniel @ Jun 6th 2008 1:07AM
That pic is great! LOL
I live in an apartment where we don't pay for utilities so it's no big deal to me but since I have PS3/360/Wii and multiple other energy guzzlers it's gonna suck when I move to a place where I have to pay for electricity. I didn't realize how crazy it was since I don't pay attention to that stuff.
JoJo @ Jun 6th 2008 9:49AM
LMFAO i would soo buy that PS3 cover skin
DjDATZ @ Jun 6th 2008 11:04AM
(I only own a 360 and know how to laugh at it's mishaps)
At least it's better than leaving my 360 on all year... it would red ring after a couple months, then take a month to get back from repair, then fail again after a week and then the process repeats over again. LOL
In all fairness, my most recent repair only took about a week from when I called them to when I had my 360 back in my hands. :D And my previous ones have lasted almost half a year each with nearly on-all-the-time-with-disc-spinning abuse. LOL They'd probably last a lot longer if I bothered to turn it off or exit the game to stop the disc from spinning. LOL
Isn't it kind of sad when my standard for the expected life of my 360 is only 6 months? :(
golden sapphire @ Jun 6th 2008 1:04PM
@ DjDATZ
why did you have to respond to the first comment to say that of ur 360?
Crumpilstilskin @ Jun 6th 2008 1:13AM
I'm calling Bullsh*t on this one....
Volomon @ Jun 6th 2008 1:22AM
Its actually true but those fridges are probably smaller than the ones you see free in most apartments, and they have no features like ice makers and such.
The average refrigerator costs $264 a year.
However lets compare this to a coffee maker, some are up to 900watts to produce the heat, ect,. if you make coffee 24/7 a year every minute of the day almost 800 dollars a year. For COFFEE...
As you can see these numbers are easily manipulated. If you compared it to coffee it doesn't look like a big deal or even an average refrigerator, however compare it to a small/medium one and you got $50 bucks and everyones like wtf?
Real Gambler @ Jun 6th 2008 11:28AM
It's even simpler than that!
They compare a PS3 running all the time with a fridge running only 5% of the time.
If you want to compare apples with apples, then compare the fridge with the door open 24hr a day (compressor working non stop) with the PS3 on all the time (processor running non stop).
Or if you leave the door close, then compare it with a game console on standby!
Real life? Open your fridge door about 3 hours per day, and use your console 3 hours per day. Results will be totally different!
adolson @ Jun 6th 2008 1:13AM
OK, I read this two days ago, and I pulled out my Kill-A-Watt and did some measurements of my Wii, PS3, and my 37" LCD TV. PS3 uses 1-2 Watts while turned off, 125W while in the XMB, and anywhere from 140-164W while in a game (Ratchet). The TV uses 0-1W while off, and 130W while on, regardless of video input. The Wii uses 1W while off (red light), 9W while in standby (WiiConnect24 yellow light), and 19W while in game (Galaxy). I did not measure a fridge, but there's the raw figures for you.
Volomon @ Jun 6th 2008 1:26AM
That's clearly a 40gb unit you have though. I think they are using the oldest units possible. Its obviously attempting to be bias or the people have no clue that their are more efficient models.
adolson @ Jun 6th 2008 1:32AM
Yeah, you're right, it is a 40GB. I forgot to mention that. In fact, the lower power consumption was one of the reasons I chose it over the 80GB (the other reasons being that the unit therefore runs cooler, I don't have any PS2 games anymore, and it was $100 cheaper). I'd be curious to see the usage for the other models.
Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!) @ Jun 6th 2008 1:15AM
For the PS3, did they measure the older units or the newer 40gb models which are more power efficient?
PSN:FatalAssassin XBL:Fata7assassin @ Jun 6th 2008 1:17AM
It takes a great amount of energy to power such a beast mode of a system:D
muhaha but can a wii be a heater as good as my ps3? nope lol
DJCUEBALL @ Jun 6th 2008 1:21AM
Now that's a real man's machine.
Ben Hourigan @ Jun 6th 2008 1:42AM
I leave my PS3 on 24/7 if I can, running folding@home while I'm sleeping, at work, interstate, or just not using the PS3 for anything else. I'm hoping this kind of stuff finds us a cure for death one day. Seriously.
Biker_J @ Jun 6th 2008 1:42AM
Well if that is true, that's quite funny as my ps3 is turned on nearly all the time lol (60GB bought last july). oh well. Nice pic though :)
GridloQ @ Jun 6th 2008 1:59AM
Nothing like some hyperbole to stir up some controversy.
Quest @ Jun 6th 2008 2:06AM
Mine is not only always on, it is running Folding a lot of that time! I have not seen an appreciable rise in my power usage over last year. I got my PS3 Christmas 2007.
Yes, I pay the bills, so, Yes, I can keep track.
Noob
Double @ Jun 6th 2008 2:08AM
On a good day I run my PS3 for about 4 hours. The fridge runs 6 times that much. Dumb Article.
KFBradley @ Jun 6th 2008 2:19AM
I once read somewhere "for less power than it takes to run a standard light bulb, you can fold @ home" or something like that. It was in a list of "cool things you can do with your PS3". I don't remember where I read it, probably Playstation.Blog or here as those are really the only 2 PS3 blogs I read.
Mike @ Jun 6th 2008 4:00AM
ive got an 80 gig left it on since launch basicly and it hasent harmed the system or raised my bill by more then 5 dollars
kentuckyfried @ Jun 6th 2008 3:51AM
Nah, this is bs. I did this calc earlier in the year. It's like $15/month if I left the ps3 on 24-7 for Folding at Home.
IGN also did the calcs, we get around the same numbers. $17.52 for running a ps3 a month straight in CA:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/776/776347p1.html
Draco @ Jun 6th 2008 8:41AM
The Australians also pay 15 cents per K/Wh
I only pay 6.7 cents / K/Wh
so my cost drops to just under half theirs, a poor seal on your refridgerator will cost you a fortune though. leave the door open a crack for the night and you will see your electric bill skyrocket.
Pete @ Jun 6th 2008 9:47AM
Australian Dollars, guys. Not US dollars.
Pete @ Jun 6th 2008 9:50AM
Also $17.52 a month = $210.24 a year. Not far off from their figures, despite the dollar differences. So how is it BS, exactly? :)
Anthony @ Jun 6th 2008 3:56AM
dam... is it just me or am i noticing Australians are messing up these days.. tch tch
what people should be worrying about is...
"should i wait in line at the midnight release of MGS4 or do i just walk in the morning?"
Nick @ Jun 6th 2008 12:10PM
Ah, an Australian source. You'd have to do some adjusting if you're comparing the cost if you live in America.
Combosite @ Jun 6th 2008 4:42AM
I luv Coca-Cola *_* Xbox360 is far better, newest version is less power consuming. It must be 12 times better than PS3, u must have too much money Ps3 Fanboys !! Look at the power test in the table on the left ---> www.dragongamer.wordpress.com or look on new xbox spec www.xboxoriginals.com
doom saber @ Jun 6th 2008 5:33AM
we had to have some xbox360 fanboy in here and ruin this topic
Tony @ Jun 6th 2008 7:16AM
So, lets just get it out in the open. The PS3 contains hazordous materials, consumes too much energy, is somehow responsible for the Cuban missile crisis, and is the leading cause for underage heroin addiction. I think we should just burn them all now.
koehler83 @ Jun 6th 2008 7:48AM
Sony didnt even do the world the decency of adding a self-destruct feature like Microsoft did with the Xbox360.
Meximan @ Jun 6th 2008 10:26AM
^^ LMFAO!!!
Gate @ Jun 6th 2008 7:54AM
For a site that claims to be for PS3 Fanboys, this is certainly an antagonistic title, and the author doesn't even mention that fact that when on standby (which is likely what game systems would be most of the time) the PS3 uses less power than even the Wii on standby with WiiConnect24 turned off, let alone with it turned on.
post2darius @ Jun 6th 2008 8:28AM
You can buy 1000 w power supply’s for PCs now, also low end PCs run about 300w plus and are left on more than PS3s on average. Are the test results from the Xbox 360 based on the Basic system that dose not need to power wireless, Bluetooth, hard drive and only has a standard DVD (not next gen BD) drive? as these would take extra power. Some grafix cards in PCs use more than 200w alone but hey no one complaines about that.
Mike @ Jun 6th 2008 8:41AM
I have to ask, do you vett your news posts, or just post anything that's got PS3 in it, regardless of the credability of the source?
This article is pure nonsense. There are real world power measurements for PS3 showing how much it uses (60GB/80GB = 170W on, 40GB=135W on, all 1.9w Standby)
The 40GB PS3 uses considerably less than a 360.
Pete @ Jun 6th 2008 10:02AM
The article is not nonsense. You are talking Watts. They only list kWh (kilo-watt hours). Completely different units.
Nate @ Jun 6th 2008 8:43AM
"It's an interesting study, but who really leaves their PS3 on all year?"
Dude.... Folding@home? Mine's been running 24/7 for about 3 weeks shy of 1 full year. So... have I given $250 to fund cancer research? If so, that's fine by me. I give about that much to a couple other charities over the course of the year (EFF and HRC), so it seems in line.
Meximan @ Jun 6th 2008 10:32AM
You do realize you can Fold@Home using a PC right? Why even buy a PS3 if you're not going to use it for what it's supposed to be used for? W/e not my money...
digiboi @ Jun 6th 2008 10:43AM
I'm sure he's like a lot of people - plays games with his free time and has a life/job/other interests. Some of us only use our PS3 for an hour or two a day and fold the remaining 20+ hours.
Steve @ Jun 6th 2008 9:41AM
These figures are way off. I'd like to know the source of the statistics. On average a refrigerator uses 2200 Watts just to turn on and then around 700 to run continuously. How is a PS3 using more energy than 5 refrigerators let alone one?
Pete @ Jun 6th 2008 9:54AM
A refrigerator's compressor doesn't run continually. And an average size fridge uses 300W when the compressor is running.
JoJo @ Jun 6th 2008 9:51AM
People just love to critisize the awesome power of the PS3.
Vcize @ Jun 6th 2008 10:16AM
You'd be surprised how energy efficient refridgerators are nowadays.
Besides, a fridge has to be run all day and is designed as such. If you're not folding@home, why on Earth would you be running your PS3 all day every day?
Canilash @ Jun 6th 2008 11:37AM
I use my PS3 to listen to music. Though certainly not 24/7. I could use my computer, but I like having a wireless bluetooth remote.
Quadrant @ Jun 8th 2008 12:49PM
So, I'm confused. Should I be leaving my PS3 on and curing the worlds ills via folding@home or am I contributing towards global warming?! Any clues?
the_wiggman @ Jun 10th 2008 5:31AM
This article is saying that when turned on, the PS3 uses 5 times as much power as a fridge (in kWh). A kilowatt hour represents the total energy consumption of an appliance drawing 1 kilowatt over the course of an hour. If the PS3 draws 140 W continuously for 24 hours, then it uses 140x24 = 3.36 kWh. A fridge running all day will draw about 300 W for 10% of that time (when the compressor is running) which equates to 300x24x0.1 = 0.72 kWh. That's a little under 1/5th of the PS3, so the magazine is correct. When turned on and playing games, the PS3 - depending on the model - uses about 5 times the energy of a fridge. the article doesn't state that having a PS3 in your household will use up 5 times more energy than your fridge. However, I can't imagine there'd be any PS3s out there (besides demos in stores) that are pushing polygons 24 hours a day. Folding@home doesn't count because it uses bugger-all in comparasin, you'd probably find transformers littering your house comsuming more energy over the course of the year.
Understand what's being said before fighting it. It uses less energy than a 360 (40GB model) and only 2W when on standby. Bottom line: save energy by not leaving your console on.