Turn off your video games to save money on Energy November 24
I have noted the energy money saving tip of electrical cords out of the socket for small electronics and appliances not in use, but I wanted to specifically talk about the high cost of leaving your video game consoles on for long periods of time.
Many people tend to leave thier video game consoles on by accident when switching to watch TV and leave to something else. And while video games are fun, the amount that it affects your energy bill isn’t.
According to this chart created from the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), the Playstation 3 was the most power-sucking console. Followed closely by the XBox 360. Luckily for all your Wii fans, the Nintendo console is very energy efficent compared to its competitors:
So if you bought a Playstation 3 (2006 model) it can rack up an additional $160 on top of your yearly energy cost.
To save money, always make sure to turn off the console completely when you are done playing it. Even leaving it in “idle” status drains a lot of energy. And if you happen to own an extra blu-ray disc player, use that to play your movies instead of puttin it in the PS3. The PS3 uses 5 times more power than the stand-alone blu-ray player.
For more information, check out the aricle, “Stop Wasting Money: Video Games and Energy Efficiency.”