Xbox energy usage to be reduced by Microsoft

By
Megan Hackett
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Microsoft

The energy-saving standby mode on the consoles will start up automatically!

The Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles from Microsoft will have a new standard power mode and “carbon-aware” downloads to make them more environmentally friendly and less carbon-intensive.

With an upcoming system upgrade, Xbox users may expect to lower their console’s carbon footprint and monthly power bills. The energy-saving standby mode for the consoles will also automatically turn on, according to Evening Standard.

Xbox
Xbox Series X (Microsoft)

Carbon Emissions Reduction

It’s important to talk about the most innovative choice for this update, which is a change to the Xbox game consoles’ “Shutdown (energy-saving)” setting.

As long as local carbon intensity data is available, the game will keep downloading and updating, even with low carbon emissions, as the majority of electricity is sourced from low-carbon sources on the grid.

So these are downloads that happen when the device is not in use, usually overnight.

An Xbox spokesperson told the Evening Standard that the upgrade, mentioned in a US statement on the news blog Xbox Wire, is also available for UK console users.

However, for now, this feature is reserved for Xbox Insiders only. They are members of the Xbox Insider Program, which gives them early access to Xbox One software upgrades before the general public. Microsoft promises that the remaining console owners will be able to test these “soon.”

As a bonus, this energy-saving shutdown mode is said to use up to 20 times less power than normal sleep mode.

Reducing Energy Costs

The Xbox Series S and X consoles already have a power-saving shutdown option that utilises about 0.5W of power as opposed to the 10W–15W needed by the standard Sleep mode.

Although putting your console to sleep will speed up a startup, you should be aware that it will consume as much energy as turning on two regular LED lights. It is anticipated that during Active Hours, the sleep mode’s quick response time will greatly rise.

Extra-demanding gamers may profit from this function because it will allow their console to start up quickly when needed while not consuming unnecessary power when not in use.

According to Microsoft, if users left their game consoles in Shutdown (energy-saving) mode for a year, they would have saved as much carbon as they would have if they had planted and watched a single tree grow for ten years.

These options alter the idle behaviour of gamers’ consoles rather than their ability to play games.

By 2030, Microsoft wants to be “a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste corporation.”