Joystiq readers are environmentally friendly

by Conrad Quilty-Harper { Jun 2nd 2006 at 2:55PM }

Claims that the majority of Joystiq readers are harmful to the planet's health have been disproved, as the results from our do you leave your console on standby? poll proves. Out of the 8,500+ respondents that took part in the poll, 53% make a conscious effort to turn off their consoles once they're finished with another 10% occasionally forgetting to do so. We can only assume that the remaining 36% who leave their consoles on standby all the time are part of the North American SUV drivers for simultaneous use of air conditioning and heating lobby group. The comments thread provided some excellent commentary on the responsibility we have to conserve our energy so we've highlighted some of the most interesting ones after the jump.

Some of our readers pointed out that console manufacturers are failing to even offer an option of turning the console completely off. Metaly left us this comment: "I would always power off my old PS2 completely, but now that I have the slimline model it's always in standby after I'm done using it. There doesn't seem to be any alternative to leaving it that way aside from unplugging it. And that would just be crazy." Manufacturers of electronic goods have a responsibility to make sure that it is as easy as possible for users to conserve energy. If turning off a game console isn't easy for the owner to do (maybe because it requires leaning down to turn it off at the plug, which may not be easily accessible) it leads to the possibility that more people will leave their consoles on. Two recent game consoles (the Xbox 360 and the slim PS2) completely lack off switches. This is unacceptable. Mike Nathan wrote an excellent comment that highlights several possible reasons behind this trend for the absence of a "power off" button. Check it out here.

Our comments also proved that there are still some myths present regarding standby mode, as Jay illustrated: "I suppose the whole thing about booting up electrical devices takes up a lot more power than keeping them running comes into realisation here. I mean, doesn't switching on certain lights (fluorescent) take up 8 hours of normal running energy just to switch them on?" This is in fact untrue. The Energy Saving Trust's survey found that "one-in-seven people questioned thought putting devices on standby was actually more energy-efficient than switching them on and off. The MTP's Matthew Armishaw clears up any confusion: 'That is largely a myth. There may have been some issues with very old electronic components, but it is certainly not the case with today's consumer electronic goods.'"

Jccalhoun let us know about his convenient energy saving solution: "I've got all my stuff attached to two powerstrips and I turn them off at night." Alkaiser can't understand why people don't make an effort to turn off their consoles. As he says, it saves you money as well as the environment! Whitster lays it down for us: "Is it really that much of an effort to pull out the plug?"

To wrap this summary post up, DeeJayKnight gives us the 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..."

Tags: CO2, Comments, Energy, Environment, Game Consoles, GameConsoles, GameCube, Global warming, GlobalWarming, Joystiq, N64, Playstation, PS2, Saturn, Standby, Standby mode, StandbyMode, Waste, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

glitched @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:02PM

yeah recently ive been turning off my powerstrips to...at night AND while im at work. one has my cable modem, wireless router and slimline plugged in, the other, my computer, monitorS, and speakers. But now im waiting SOOO much longer for torrents to download since they arent running when im not home.

pennywise969 @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:12PM

If I dont turn off my 360 my room turns into a steam room.

Alex @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:18PM

I really wish these results were accurate, but I wonder how many of the people who contributed to this poll actually knew that turning the console off was actually leaving the console in standby and that you had to actually unplug the console (or turn off a powerstrip) to truly turn it off.

I only say this because I realized after voting that I have actually been leaving my 360 in standby mode (which makes sense or else how else could I turn it on wirelessly?... I'm an idiot). Any other idiots out there who voted wrong? :)

AndrewNeo @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:23PM

I turn my xbox off only because I'm afraid it'll overheat. The thing already reports like 150F (my PC at 100% is only maybe 120F.) I leave my computer on all the time, but half of that is because it's always doing something.

Probot @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:54PM

After reading most of the 81 comments in the other thread, I really only agree with the epobirs. Standby mode is a technological improvement. I leave my computer on (not standby) every night to download stuff and to do virus/spyware scans while I sleep. The wasted power (and subsequent polution) doesn't really bother me.

It's not a case of "I'm one person. I can't help." It's more like, I waste less energy than the average person (no car or tv, don't use heater or air conditioner, etc), so I'm gonna take advantage of the stuff I do use.

The poll is a bit misleading, of course. The post mentioned that TVs in sleep mode are causing the problem, not consoles. Even with millions of consoles sold around the world, there are still far more TVs, microwaves, answer machines, VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, cable boxes, satellite dishes, electric razors, cell and cordless phones, and other such devices in homes. And as several people noted in the other thread, several of these things only have standby modes.

Mort85 @ Jun 2nd 2006 3:56PM

and i thought it was just a determiner of how many people have the xbox or 360. after all, if you dont turn those off when your done, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye forever when you leave the room. especially on carpet...

PayTheMan @ Jun 2nd 2006 4:00PM

Seeing as a how large number of gamers turn their console off completely how useful is Wii's "always on" mode?

Master 0f None @ Jun 2nd 2006 4:06PM

Yep. Another idiot here.

I think part of the problem with understanding when something is really "off" is the fact that there is no external indication that, to use as an example, my 360 is "off". I'm looking at it right now. There are no blinking lights, no standby lights, nothing.

In comparison to one of the simplest everyday objects we use, a regular light, it looks off. When you turn a light on, it goes on. [unless your bulb just blew, which is another story]. When you turn a light off, it goes off. I think it's reasonable to expect our electronics to act in a similiar fashion, or at least indicate if they're "sorta kinda off".

Probot @ Jun 2nd 2006 4:45PM

#7,

As I understand it, the Wii doesn't have an off button, only standby mode. According to Nintendo, the Wii will use the same amount of power as a small lightbulb.

PayTheMan @ Jun 2nd 2006 5:01PM

I understand that it has a standby mode but even then it utilizes more power than if it were completely off. Imagine the power being used by all Wii owners if they all leave them in standby mode.

Canadian Geese @ Jun 2nd 2006 5:18PM

My 360 is on whenever my TV is on. I take full advantage of the media center extender. My MCE2005 pc is always on, but it's always doing something (downloading, recording, etc). My air conditioner/heater is what used to really worry me until I bought a digital thermostat that turns down while I'm at work. I also drive a Prius. I'm basically a digital hippy.

ogvor @ Jun 2nd 2006 5:45PM

I said i leave mine on because right now I only have a slim PS2 which is ALWAYS on stand by unless I turn it off. I'm pretty sure that most of the people who make it a conncious desision to turn of their consoles would be less inclined to do so if they had to unplug it and plug it back in every time and I wonder how many of them own the slim PS2 and can't turn it off unless they do this.

I do try and keep my computer off as much as I can.

jeremy @ Jun 2nd 2006 6:35PM

This is futile, we must make drastic changes to our lifestyle if we are ever going to repair the damaging rape that we, Western Civilization, have done to our planet, the only thing we can do is stop electricity all together. Haven't you seen "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore, it basically sums up the situation that the earth would be better without humans, and I concur. Destroy everything in your house, and your house itself, it rapes the planet, but you blindly go on with your futile life.

Alkaiser @ Jun 2nd 2006 9:30PM

ogvor: I have my PS2 and TV plugged into a cheap-ass surge protector that has a switch on it. It's really not all that hard to go over and flip the switch, which is like 2 feet from the PS2 when I go to turn everything off.

wildweasel @ Jun 3rd 2006 1:10AM

I leave my consoles in standby all the time. Not just for convenience - but also because unplugging them for too long causes a majority of them to lose their system and clock settings, which is a major inconvenience when all I want to do is play a quick round of, say, Tetris.

Kinmar @ Jun 3rd 2006 10:12AM

I am fairly certain (just by reading some of these comments) that the poll in question is maybe 1-2% accurate. Because most of the people voting seem to thing that just be pressing the power button on their 360 that they are turning it off. To those people, unless you actually get up and unplug the console (power off the power strip) your simply putting it in standby mode. The 360 does not turn off when you push that button. Hense the reason you can turn it on with the controller. Same with most TV's when you hit power it is not 100% off.

Sami @ Jun 3rd 2006 5:12PM

We shouldn't even have to make a conscious effort to turn the power completely down. Power off should be the standard option, with a power button accompanying it, and standby only an extra option. Who knows how much energy all those standby PlayStation 2s have squandered on absolutely nothing since 2000?

I'm even cautious about the Wii's WiiConnect24 thing, which seems to require constant standby status.

Rare Hare @ Jun 4th 2006 2:13PM

@Sami (#17):

remember though that things that are in modes like that use very little power.. almost an unnoticable ammount. for example, leaving your monitor on when you turn your computer off. this uses so little energy that a month of it will make no difference at all on your electricity bill. after all, all the energy is being used for is to produce a tiny light, indicating that the device is on.

the biggest source of wasted energy is lightbulbs. if you people are so concerned about energy being wasted, just turn your damn lights off when you leave a room. better yet, don't use them at all when you don't need them.

trust me though... shutting down your 360 or PS2 completely rather than leaving them in "standby" mode isn't going to make a difference. sorry :-).

consumer_q @ Jun 5th 2006 3:07AM

"trust me though... shutting down your 360 or PS2 completely rather than leaving them in "standby" mode isn't going to make a difference. sorry "

I absolutely do not trust your assertion.
How many PS2s and Xbox360s have been sold it the last few years?
Multiply that number by your kW usage and you get a substatial number.

"if you people are so concerned about energy being wasted, just turn your damn lights off when you leave a room."

Why not do both; turn off the console and lights when not needed?

Juju @ Jun 5th 2006 8:56AM

Get a PowerGenie:
http://www.powergenie.com/index.html
I've got mine plugged into my TV, so when my TV is off, everything else is properly OFF.

Artie bonney @ Jun 6th 2006 4:31PM

It seems that the insubstantial amount of energy needed to keep a system "alive" could be provided by a different source - something renewable. Solar powered calulators are dirt cheap and harness enough energy to do their job. How hard would it be to place a solar cell or two on the console or whatever appliance to charge a mini battery that would provide the "instant on" capability. ( i do not know if the process to create the solar cells would be less energy efficient than running on the grid - that would have to be looked into). Most appliances are hit by light for some portion of the day - to me that is free energy.

Just a thought all.

Obebogie @ Jul 20th 2006 5:38PM

"How hard would it be to place a solar cell or two on the console or whatever appliance to charge a mini battery that would provide the "instant on" capability."

Thats right. How about going one stage further and having the buttons in the controller generate electricity when you tap on them, like those kinetic watches.

Seriously though, Local electricity generation is the key. You can't change human nature, there will always be too many people out there who don't give a shit so you have to make it easy for them - Make the energy they use be generated by a non-poluting power source. Then we can leave all our gear in standby for as long as we want.

Good call by the british government to try and do something about it but I think they're barking up the wrong tree.