“Winter is coming” some would say, and this will be the coldest of all. Not only because the temperatures have changed suddenly, but also because most likely we have to prepare ourselves to face an increase in the cost of electricity. In all of this we players are surely ready to run for cover, right? So here's what we thought about. What better way than to put our consoles in modes that allow us to save some electricity. The energy saving on consoles it is therefore a theme that is almost never addressed, yet in recent months it could, in its small way, help many small players not to forget their console on.
So here are some tips that can be useful for those who want to use the your console in energy saving mode or for those who, on the other hand, want to do something for themselves and the environment in a small way and therefore save a little electricity and consequently also save a little bit. But enough talk and let's move on.
PS5 Power Saver
Let's start with the Sony flagship, a mammoth console that almost seems to shout "CONSUMPTION". Now of course you are wondering, if actually the console sleep mode, also allows it to be less "power consuming", the answer is clearly negative. In fact, it should be remembered that the rest mode of the consoles still allows them to perform basic operations. For example, in this mode it is still possible to download updates and keep the titles in stand-by.
Consequently, it is easy to understand that it is almost impossible to save energy in this mode. Consequently, let's see how it is possible to go and prevent the PS5 from going into this mode. So let's go to "Settings -> System -> Energy Saving -> Set time until PS5 enters sleep mode“. At this point you just have to choose after how long to make the console go into this mode. For complete energy savings, we obviously advise you to turn off the rest mode, and perhaps you can also do it with the DualSense, by setting an automatic shutdown timer.
Power saving on Xbox Series X|S
Let's now move on instead to the consoles of the Redmond house, which are now raging in the living rooms of the players and which we know by now to be excellent life companions, especially for those who seek to exploit the game pass in the most fruitful way possible. So let's see how to best set up Xbox Series X | S for energy saving. Go to our profile icon and then go to "Settings -> General -> Sleep Mode and Startup“. At this point, all that remains is to activate the Energy Saving mode.
If you want to be even more drastic, you can select the "Complete Shutdown" option. In the latter case the console will perform a total shutdown and will not be active in any way even during the stand-by phases. As also for PS5, Microsoft consoles also tend to work in the background when they are in "sleep mode“, consequently having greater control over the console and the activities it carries out during the night is certainly a great way to save energy, even considerably.
Power Saving on Nintendo Switch (All Models)
So here we are at the Kyoto console, which for obvious reasons is certainly different in functioning from the previous ones and which therefore consumes energy in a completely different way compared to its larger "sisters" and with obviously different uses. Most of the energy consumption that occurs on the Switch is obviously done in portable mode, when in fact we are forced to rely on the console's battery alone, in this way obviously there is no large energy consumption. But what we can do, if we really want to be picky, is go and modify Switch's power saving options when in Dock mode.
In fact, when the console is on its base it will never shut down completely, on the contrary it will also enter rest mode and consequently it will remain "active" until we decide to take it back or we cut power to the dock. That said, if we want to prevent Nintendo Switch from entering this mode even if connected to the dock, just go to "System Settings -> Sleep Mode (from the menu on the left)“. At this point we just have to decide the behavior of the console.
These that we have listed were just some small tricks to save energy with your consoles. We are sure that many of you already know how to carry out these operations, but obviously it is always better to have a guide for everyone and above all to meet the needs of those who want to be of help in the energy picture of the community, even in a small way. To all energy saving effects on consoles it has never been spoken openly, as if it were something superfluous, yet today it could be almost essential.
