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Report: Want to be a green gamer? Turn off your console

arstechnica.com — The National Resources Defense Council has a released a report revealing that a) your game consoles can greatly increase your annual electricity bill, and b) there are some very simple steps one can take to avoid such costs.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 20, 2008

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  • stoanhart, on 11/19/2008, -3/+56Really, people leave their consoles on after they are done using them? Wtf! Maybe that's partially the reason so many 360s die so fast (not that that's an excuse).

    Also, a question for fellow Wii owners. When turn the console off via the WiiMote, it goes into "yellow" mode, and often the DVD drive remains active. I can come back a day later, and the console is physically warm. Therefore, I usually get up and hold the power button until the LED turns red, to make sure it is truly off. Is that just my Wii, or does anyone else's do that too?
  • chaosblade77, on 11/19/2008, -0/+45Turn WiiConnect24 off, it will automatically go to the "red light" mode.
  • tawnos, on 11/19/2008, -3/+44So in order to be green I can't have things running that I'm not using?
  • gridbread, on 11/20/2008, -0/+34But I'm curing cancer with folding@home.
    : /
  • serif69, on 11/20/2008, -0/+27So, what you're saying is that if someone leaves an electric device powered on, it will draw more electricity than if it were shut off? Preposterous!
  • eatsleeptrumpet, on 11/20/2008, -7/+31Want to be a green gamer? Try this: http://tinyurl.com/6g6366
  • meleemaster500, on 11/19/2008, -1/+24if you say so...
  • ch4os1337, on 11/20/2008, -1/+23Is this really necessary to remind people to turn them off after your done? Its the same with almost anything that uses electricity.

    Thanks tips.
  • Shadow57, on 11/20/2008, -0/+21Why the hell would you leave your X-Box 360 on 24 hours a day??
  • jwolcott, on 11/20/2008, -6/+27NNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • cptmichael101st, on 11/20/2008, -1/+19you forgot an E.
  • DubBucket, on 11/20/2008, -2/+20If you really cared about the environment, you'd kill yourself.
  • o0dhacker0o, on 11/19/2008, -20/+37Oh stfu...
  • D3koy, on 11/20/2008, -0/+15Back on the PSone I was playing final fantasy VIII and didn't have a memory card. I got to disc 2 before it crashed....That was a sad night...
  • darkane, on 11/20/2008, -0/+15I turn my 360 off when I'm not using it. Not because I want to save the environment, but because it makes so many loud, horrible sounds that I fear it will burst into flames at any moment.
  • chaosblade77, on 11/20/2008, -0/+13I assume they are talking about literally leaving the console on, not putting it in "standby mode" (red light on PS3 and Wii, not sure what it would be on the 360).

    Still, I find it hard to believe very many people would actually leave their console running all the time. Then again, I also found it hard to believe some people throw away their game cases...
  • bullsfan03, on 11/20/2008, -0/+12Thank god you mentioned the last part.
  • defenswens26, on 11/20/2008, -0/+10My roomie left his xbox on for 36 hours solid once with gta paused. I'm surprised it didn't red ring on him.
  • mywhitenoise, on 11/20/2008, -1/+11You score headshots when you're not playing your console!?
  • trdrstv, on 11/20/2008, -0/+9Yeah "Save the environment" vs "Save humanity" ... I for one choose the latter since eventually we'll need to get off the planet anyway...
  • ceredron, on 11/20/2008, -4/+13well, that might be so, but it kind of lacks in other categories, like... graphics and game variety.
  • mywhitenoise, on 11/20/2008, -1/+10I buried you for your idiocy.
    The article is telling you to turn them off when not in use.
  • inactive, on 11/20/2008, -0/+9Go green and save the plane to OR leave my ps3 on running fold to help cure cancer.

    decisions .. decisions.
  • mywhitenoise, on 11/20/2008, -2/+10and smell of virgin.
  • inactive, on 11/20/2008, -0/+8Just start LARPing with real weapons. It would do wonders for lessening the environmental impact that people have on this earth.
  • nilhilustfreder, on 11/20/2008, -0/+8I dugg you up once so I could digg you down twice. Not to be a dick.
  • legacy5k, on 11/20/2008, -0/+8I don't understand these articles. I just tested my PS3 power draw with a kill-a-watt unit on the wall. On/active it draws around 160 watts. Off/standby mode draws 0-1 watts. I have no idea where these people are getting their data.
  • BigglesPiP, on 11/20/2008, -2/+9Most of the energy it uses becomes heat, so at this time of year, what you spend on the console, you save on the heating bill.
  • UncleCrapper, on 11/20/2008, -2/+9Forever? You mean two seconds. That's a small price to pay for nearly an eightfold reduction in power requirements.

    Besides, most recent CFL models marked with the Energy Star rating start instantly. Perhaps they have special ballasts.

  • mywhitenoise, on 11/20/2008, -2/+8That's WiiConnect24, there's really no need for it to be on since there's only a couple of online games.
  • vivisimonvi, on 11/19/2008, -3/+9What about changing the lighting in your home instead? We've replaced about 10 100 watt incandescent bulbs with similiar 13 or 26 watt CFL ones. We've cut between 740 - 870 wattage use on lighting alone.
  • mywhitenoise, on 11/20/2008, -2/+8yeah, that's what they mean. Leaving it on stand-by is their definition of "off".
    If you turned the console off, you wouldn't spend ANY money.
  • Sisko41, on 11/20/2008, -1/+7@soopafly

    youre a moron. it says turn it off when you're NOT USING it. Do you leave the stove on all the time, even if you aren't using it? How about the vacuum? More than likely, no, you don't.
  • inactive, on 11/20/2008, -1/+7i'll be honest, many night i knocked out with my ps3 on the whole night
  • inactive, on 11/20/2008, -0/+6Maybe he's multitasking.
  • UncleCrapper, on 11/20/2008, -1/+6My last roommate used to do this and it drove me crazy as I considered it not only a waste of energy, but a source of unnecessary wear and tear on the game machine.
  • Cancerous, on 11/20/2008, -5/+10My 360 is a pillow warmer. My head is nice and toasty on those cold winter nights. Plus I dream I am in a Blackhawk Helicopter. Score!
  • DeathRay2K, on 11/20/2008, -0/+5Alright, I'll do that and just skip one of my weekly trips to Europe.
  • Treshnell, on 11/20/2008, -1/+6When I first got my PS2, I didn't have any memory cards for it. I left it running for 2 weeks straight while I played FF VII.

    Even after I got memory cards, I'd just leave it on so I wouldn't have to wait for games to load and so I could play games between classes.

    Still runs perfectly, 5 years later.
  • EvilCan, on 11/20/2008, -0/+5While you're busy scoring headshots, I'll be busy getting laid...

    /notreally
  • cupati, on 11/20/2008, -0/+4But there's no 1 player mode!
  • mysteryberto, on 11/20/2008, -0/+4PS3 has a power option in the menu to shut it off after a few hours of not being used.
  • tonyjorb1337, on 11/20/2008, -2/+6its not. i wish these douche bags would go green and turn their computers off
  • ace429k, on 11/20/2008, -0/+4You can also unplug cord in the back. :D it helps!
  • noerrorsfound, on 11/20/2008, -0/+4Why the hell are memory cards so expensive?
    http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Memory-Card-8MB- ...
    $34.99 for 8 megabytes of space?
  • Gman1223, on 11/20/2008, -1/+5alclone

    It depends on the brand, I guess. My Philips CFLs light up really fast, I can't tell the difference between Incandescent and the CFLs in terms of lighting speed.
  • wunksta, on 11/20/2008, -3/+7yeah, saving money on our energy bills individually as well as those through out america is such *****!

    HOORAY HIGH ENERGY COSTS, ***** idiots.
  • jason210, on 11/20/2008, -1/+5nothing about video games is hardcore.
  • Hodor, on 11/20/2008, -0/+3why not do both?
  • BESTenemy, on 11/20/2008, -0/+3Chess board - the ultimate green console.
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