Joystiq poll: Do you leave your game console on standby?

While it's true that it is not more energy efficient to leave things in standby mode than it is to turn them fully on and off, it *is* true that turning items fully on and off tends to reduce their lifespan. That's the reason why lightbulbs usually go out when you've just turned them on, rather than randomly while lit. Same thing with most other electrical devices... the lifetime of various parts is shortened by the sudden pulse of electricity when the item is powered on.

So the question becomes, how much do we shorten the lifespan of products by powering them on and off compared to just leaving them in standby, and how much energy is consumed in the process of manufacturing goods to replace the ones that have died prematurely due to the excess wear and tear of powering on and off? How does the energy saved by powering off compare the to the energy wasted in manufacturing replacement products?

I've had my PS2 -- one of the original batch to hit the US -- on standby 24/7 since I first plugged it in (when I wasn't actually using it, of course). I, like many others, was under the impression that "standby" did little more than maintain power to the softpower button and keep the LED illuminated. Had I known otherwise, I probably would have been turning it off at the switch. However, I also have to wonder if the console would have lasted this long.

Slim PS2s can be "easily modded for a power switch. I removed the modem on one of my slim PS2s and put a power switch in it's place. I used a switch similar to one from a ATX power supply, cut the positive trace, and soldered the switch leads to each side of cut trace. I did have to slightly cut the modem hole to fit the switch, but it wasn't a big deal.

It's not that hard if you have soldered before. The slims are a lot easier to take apart than the bricks.

Considering most global warming effects have been accounted to methane from cow farts (I kid you not), pinpointing electrical devices on standby is a little too finger-pointy for my liking. There are LOTS more things that contribute heavily to global warming.

That aside, I do power down my devices. Anything that reduces my electricity bill by a few pence is always welcome.

this is just nonsense. yeah it may use energy, but i dont see how my 360 bein in standby is causing global warming. u want to change the world? buy an electric or alternativly powered car. im gonna pick on america here. stop buying hummers, jeeps, suvs and other 'road tanks.' they are all unneccesary

its not just america, we're all guilty, but its more affordable over there

there would be alternativly powered cars, but oil has to much control. where would they make their money?

I use standby 99% of the time, only time its not in standby is when I'm moving the PS2 from upstaires to downstairs. or bringing it to a friends house.

my computer even in sleep mode uses much more power then my PS2 even when its running. my TV uses power but if I were to turn it unplug it every time I wasnt using it, the mainbord would probably fry.. (big screens they say every time you unplug it and then turn it back on cuts 10 hrs of life from it)

but then again I get my power from Hydro electric dams and every time they build more dams it makes many more jobs for people in my neighbourhood. so I use as much power as possible :P cheap too.

I 100% hate standby mode on the PS2 and turning it off is even more of a hassle. *needs a mod to get rid of standby mode*

I have to agree with #49 the amount of energy wasted in low product life cycles probably wastes more energy. For things like silicon chips the transition from a low to a high voltage is taxing. I too have had my launch ps2 on standby for nearly the life of the console and only had to repair it when the tray busted from pulling it off the shelf while playing it.

I think ultimately it is the corporations faults for assuming the device will be plugged in all the time. Also low tech homes with unintelligent power. I think most "non-critical" devices should have a intelligent power management like PFC built into the power supplies and also adding devices like the cmos switches to enable lower power standby. New chips like the FPF2501 just are hitting the market and should beable to remedy this if manufacturers design for lowpower.

This philosophy of turning things off completely should also be applied to cell phone/mp3 players or any other thing that can conveniently be unplugged when not in use. I make a real effort now to unplug my cell phone charger and ipod charger when I'm not using either. Granted, I've got cords lying about my place, I keep them where I plug them, and use them when I need them.

How cute....another global warming story.

I like global warming stories. Every time I hear one it reminds me of my childhood and reading the story of "Chicken Little".

I always turn my consoles all the way off. This stems from being poor when I was growing up. My parents used to get pissed because the electric bill was so high, and they'd see us using the electric stuff all the time.

One day, I went out back to check the meters, and I noticed that the little "wheels" on the elctricity meters would spin faster if all the stuff (TV, radio, computer) was still plugged in. We figured if we were going to get yelled at for using electricity, we may as well make sure we using it for something and we started unplugging all the devices. Sure it took a little work, but we didn't care.

I don't see why NOT to do this if it's a huge waste of electricity, and if it contributes to global warming. I mean, once I found out all those energy inefficent power supplies were doing the same thing, I made sure to put my new rig together with a 80/80/80 rated power supply.

Sure it's a little thing, it's incovenient, and doing things like driving a more fuel efficient car are actually more beneficial, but come on guys...it's like an additional 2 seconds out of your day.

This poll is biased against people who don't turn off their machines at all.

I have been tracking my electric consumption when I purchased my Xbox 360, because I was told that the console consumes "mass" amounts of juice... Baloney! I use my Xbox 360 every day, and my electric bill has not changed. I leave it on standby because I can't stand a "cold" start. Fear works wonders!

I hate how video game systems are turning more and more into PCs. I hate it how some video game systems have a standby mode. I mostly play Gamecube so I don't have to worry about it but I do often leave my PS2 on standby by mistake. (Thanks Joystiq, I just went and shut it off.) I like the old days where video game consoles just played games and that was it. When you wanted to play you turned it on and when you wanted to stop you turned it off. Now Sony and Microsoft are packing in so much unnecessary and unwanted (by me at least) functionality that it raises the cost. The PS3 is going to be $600 and they're telling us to think of it as a computer and not a gaming console. I hate that. I'd rather a $300 PS3 that just played games and didn't have any of that extra functionality. I'd rather be able to play MGS4 without opening a separate savings account for it. I don't need or want another computer. Sorry Sony, but if I want a computer I'll buy a computer, not a Playstation. But that's just me, I'm an old timer. I prefer Nintendo's philosophy that games come first and all other functionality is trivial. The fact that the Gamecube won't play movies or music has never bothered me. I have other devices that do that, and plenty of them.

But I think The Wii is going to give us the first reason to actually leave a console on standby mode, being that their online service is 24hr. That functionality is directly related to the games and it gives standby mode a purpose.

If anyone wanted to see a slim with a power switch added in:

http://ps2-scene.org/forums/showthread.php?t=41749

If you have a ps2-scene.org account:

http://ps2-scene.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9046&d=1136272710

"That's the reason why lightbulbs usually go out when you've just turned them on, rather than randomly while lit."

Now there's where you're wrong my friend. I work at Displace International, a large import-export firm as a night watchman. Normally, I'd agree with you about the lights going out only when just turned on, but the other day I noticed a weird pattern of lights just failing, seemingly at random. a couple times I heard some weird sounds right before the light failed, but I looked and there was nothing there. Maybe I just have been working too much and need a break, or maybe it was just a cat. Funny thing is, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye right after the lights went out, but you know how your eyes play tricks on you... It was kind of weird though... I suddenly woke up in a dark corner in the hallway. I must've fallen asleep at my post and sleepwalked over there or something, even though that has never happened to me before. Oh well.

All these people who either dont think leaving items on standby leads to global warming or that its too much hassle make me laugh.

Pretty much every week we hear a story on some news website or paper about how we're using up too much oil or some scientists found out we're heading too close to the point of no return in relation to the enviroment. These stories usually come with the message "We all need to buck up and chip in to help sort it out." Yet when it comes to something is a simple as unplugging an electronic device theres an outcry of "Why should I unplug it? Its too much effort! Its only a tiny bit of power". Now fair enough, if the plug for the 42" plasma TV is hidden behind it its a bit of a problem. But when its a PS2 or charging item its not too much of a problem to take out.

I dont understand how people can not see what a big difference it would make if everyone stopped leaving non-essential items on stand by. Is it really that much of an effort to pull out the plug?

I never leave anything on standby that dosent need it. Theres just no point for it. Though I do know someone who leaves their Sky digi box on(as in fully on, delivering a channel) all through the night even when the TV is off. And they actually leave their PS2 on pause for a hours at a time as they see it as too much effort to turn it off. We need a big change I say. And I think something like this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4754109.stm would be a great idea. Although it would be a huge task to get them installed accross any country im sure people would watch their power useage more when they can visibly see which items are using up a certain amount of energy.

THIS IS RETARDED! Does everyone realize how many items are left on standby? It would blow you away! This topic is irrelevant. Here's one that will freak you out! Do you know how much water we waste daily? Just in small leaks alone! How about under-inflated tires causing low MPG... Give me a break! If you want to go after mass consumption, you are looking in the wrong place!

While, I appreciate the article I think the sentence "That's a big waste and a large contribution to global warming, especially for something people aren't actually using." is very misleading. It is a lot of energy but it's *not* a large contribution. From the article:

390 thousand metric tons of CO2 are wasted by these devices on standby.

From http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/co2_report/co2emiss.pdf :

2,244,804 thousand metric tons of CO2 were produced by power plants in the United States in the year 2000.

So, assuming about the same amount was wasted in the US as in the UK on standby devices, then about one hundredth of one percent of total energy production went to those. That's not a whole lot, and it affords a lot of convenience. The majority of the standby devices are probably computers or TVs, and computers can start up a LOT faster if you just sleep them instead of turning them off, and TVs allow you to use the remote if you just put them to sleep.

(Grumble)

I can never vote in this polls, because someone else at my company already voted. Guess the poll is by IP.

Anyway, I always turn my console off when not in use.

@ Zero Corpse

"I don't see it as "wasted energy" seeing as I'm paying for the electricity"

Dum dum dum dum dum Dum Dum, Dum dum Dum Dum dum Dum Dum.

The issue I have with the lack of a power button or switch is that if a computer or other electronic device encounters a major problem all the standby does is allow the problem to not be cleared.

I have had to unplug my comp a few times to finally get to do a proper hard ware reboot instead of constantly softbooting with the standby mode.

Plus the standby mode should be designed by the manufactories to use a lot less power then when the system is running at full speed.

Now some devices it is more usefull to have them turned on all the time you are in the room because the startup is often stressfull. If you are going to be in the rooms of your house for several hours or going to be in that room numerous times that day leave the incandesant light on. Don't turn it off, then go back in five minutes later and turn it on. Turn it off if you aren't going to be back in that room for hours.

If you notice most blubs blow when you switch them on.

I leave my gaming rig on all the time. My slim PS2 really can't be turned off without unplugging it. The rest LED is always on anyway.

I could be wrong on this, but I don't believe that the difference between standby and turning an electronic device off will have any effect on pollution and only a small one on your wallet. The reason I believe this is because power plants have to produce more electricity then is actually needed at any one time to account for fluctuations in electricty consumption by the end consumer. The difference in consumption between standby and off, across even a wide number of consumers, would likely have little to no effect on the amount of electricity generated by a power plant at any given time because the plant will still need to provide enough "overhead" of power to prevent brownouts from occuring when power needs are increased by much more demanding things like heating and cooling. I don't think that power plants operate in a way that allows them to instantaneously reduce power generation upon slight drops in demand.

I use one of these powerstrips to control my PS2, DVD Player, a TV-backlight, and a powered subwoofer:

It's a power strip that uses one piece of electronic equipment to control whether or not others get power. If the TV's not on, none of those other items get juice.

http://www.bitsltd.net/smartstrip/buy.htm

I had some trouble getting it to work with my home theater receiver as the control unit, so I called them up and they were pretty helpful. I don't work for them, I just like their product.

I haven't turned off my PS2 since it launched and...

Oh crap.

One way to solve the problem is to plant more trees. Trees need Co2 as much as we need Oxygen.

If you plant more trees, then that will help in Rebuilding the Ozone because trees produce Oxygen as a waste (ozone = O3 i think....), plus it will remove more Co2 produced from everything.

prob due to all the PCs in standby or just left running.. Im my home while at work we have 2 pcs running (not in standby) and at night only 1 gets shut down.. the other runs 24/7, used or not, its always ON..

missing option:

I never stop playing video games long enough to justify standby, much less "off"

If it really bothers you, the simple expedient is to have an accessable power strip supplying juice to all the devices in a vicinity that do not need to be constantly in standby mode.

In the case of the PS2, mine has likely spent the bulk of its existence in standby just because I still haven't gotten used to the idea of a console that has the option. It will be more justifiable on the Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3 because these machines can be involved in lengthy downloads while otherwise inactive. Nintendo has even suggested they want remote access to you Wii for any number of nefarious purposes. On the surface it may just be gifts in animal Crossing but is Iwata secretly planning to use the world's Wiis as a botnet for launching DDOS attacks?

Anything you own that came with a remote control that has an On/Off button likely defaults to standby mode if power is available. But how many really need it and how many of those could have their load reduced through integration? Certainly my DVR needs to be mnimally awake all of the time and so does the cable box to respond the DVR's channel changes. If the DVR could get feedback from the cable box so it knew when it needed to be turned on and when it could be left off, that would save a little that adds up across millions of installations. (A combined DVR and cable box can of course power down parts of itself as needed.)

I'm not a tree hugger but I really like eficiency in design. I'd rather have better technology to solve a consumption problem than give up the technology entirely. To a large extent, the power consumed by standby devices is part of modern life. You don't get much automation if everything must wait for human intervention to perform its task. People like having the coffee maker start a pot just in time for them to wander bleary eyed into the kitchen. It's one of the ways we tell ourselves we're a bit better off than our forebears.

And Kyoto suckers, we didn't ratify the silly thing because it's a scam. It does nothing to fix any problem while punishing existing Western economies and at the same time giving China and India free reign to crank out smog until both nations appear as nothing more than black clouds from above. If you've paid attention you'd know that most of the ratifying industrialized nations have long since forsaken their declared goals for compliance with no end in sight.

The way I see it, there will not be a way to argue this fairly.

Those that are arguing for more conservation of energy will always be right in their minds, as well as those who "don't consume as much energy as that guy" and those that don't care.

Some of the people that save energy have a smug attitude that rubs others the wrong way: "You should care more about the environment! I do what I can, so can you!." Some of those that don't use as much energy as others, but use enough to keep life simple: "I don't waste gas, so I should be fine!" Those who simply don't care, just don't care.

The odd thing is that as much as they all have valid points, it's going to take more than arguing on a forum to get them to change their minds. Energy conservists are right for the most part due to the fact that they care about the environment (at least some of them do - there will always be posers). Those who don't waste more than they need for comfortability are right in the fact that they pay for their electricity, so they get the ease of use they want.

Bottom line: We're all guilty of wasting electricity from time to time, regardless of who you are. This article is just trying to point it out to us so we can start changing it...

"at some point everyone is going to realize that and be scared shitless enough to do something about it." - David

By the time that happens it will probably be much too late for us to do anything. If we heat the planet to the point that greenland ice shelf moves into the ocean, if we melt the siberian and alaskan peat bogs melt and release methane with the same heating ptential as 8 times the CO2 currently in the air, if we continue the way we are, by the time we decide we can stop it will be too late.

i've wasted too much energy reading all these posts... i think it's time to turn my computer off now

I installed a power switch in one of the memory slots on my xbox1 controller, dont get up from the couch and i can turn it off easy, so i save energy two ways. also needed more than i should when playing homebrew stuff and it locksup.

You know this would be a good application for those X10 devices, (who knows how much power those consume, but it's probably less than all of my electronics on standby). Just put all your tv type devices that should be turned off on one power strip and switch them off by remote, leaving your DVR on. Seems like a good solution to the moving the TV problem.