There’s a handy little wallet trick for Xbox Series X and S owners! By switching to Energy Saver mode, you can significantly reduce your electricity bill.
The price of energy is an extremely worrying subject at the moment, especially with the coming winter. And for fuels as for electricity, the prices of which have risen significantly in recent months. As the reminder official government website, this increase is linked to the increase in the price of gas and the risk of a stoppage of Russian gas imports, but also to the reduction in the production of nuclear energy, a good number of French power plants being shut down for maintenance . This is why the price of electricity on the wholesale markets rose from €50/MWh at the start of 2021 to €700/MWh during the summer of 2022 to reach nearly €1,000/MWh in September… And While government measures promise to limit increases to maintain acceptable rates, new habits should be adopted now to limit electricity consumption and reduce future bills. Every little daily gesture counts to lighten the bill a little, including in the world of video games. Owners of an Xbox Series X or S will be delighted to learn that the console has a power saving mode. A very practical function which allows, as noted The Vergeto consume up to 20 times less than the standard mode, and therefore to make significant savings.
Xbox Series X/S: an eco mode to reduce power consumption
Microsoft consoles have two modes: Instant Start mode and Power Saver mode. The first mode allows you to turn on the device almost instantly and resume your current game, but in return consumes a lot of electricity – including when the Xbox Series is off. Energy saving mode, on the other hand, takes longer to turn on the console – 20 seconds according to Microsoft, since it performs a reboot of the machine – but consumes less. The numbers speak for themselves: instant start consumes between 11 and 13 W, compared to 0.5 W for energy saving mode.
A difference that is felt in the electricity bill. As The Verge points out, using Instant Start mode 24 hours a day, a UK gamer spends around £4.93 on an Xbox Series X – the bill is a bit lower for Xbox Series S and Xbox One S – against 20 pence – the English “cents” – with the Energy Saver mode. A difference that amounts to about 60 pounds per year! If these prices are different in France from the prices charged by the suppliers, there is no doubt that there is still a big saving, which is worth waiting a few more seconds when starting the console.
By default, Xbox Series X and S are programmed to Instant Start mode. Here’s how to enter Power Saver mode.
► Press the Xbox button on your controller to start the console.
► Press the button again. Xbox button to open the guide – the console start menu.
► In the menu, select the tab Profile and system.
► Select Settings.
► Go to General.
► Select the drop-down menu Supply Mode – or sleep mode – on the right column and choose Energy saving mode.
