UPDATE: There was a question, following our report, about which Nintendo Switch model we used to get our results. It was an important question. We used the original launch model to get our results, but there are another two versions of Switch hardware out there: the revised 2019 model and the newer OLED model. And these significantly alter the test results; power-use has been as much as halved in the newer models.
We decided, then, to re-test all three Switch models to produce a supplementary table to the original one below. On it, you will notice a discrepancy with the original Switch figures in the “Rest mode” category. We originally told you the launch model Switch would pull 3.5W in Rest mode, and that would add up to £10.40 of electricity used a year, but that is not entirely correct.
The complication comes from Switch being the only console that charges a battery. When it’s charging, it does pull 3.5W, but when it’s not, it pulls hardly anything: 0.2W the majority of the time. This reduces the annual pull to £0.59 – a trace amount.
In addition to the new table, we also recorded a video where I talked to Digital Foundry’s Tom Morgan about the tests we ran and the results we recorded. I hope you find it useful.
ORIGINAL STORY: Do you know how much money you’re spending powering your consoles? As we head into a winter of unprecedented energy prices in the UK, it’s a question that couldn’t be more relevant.
To find out, we collaborated with hardware experts Digital Foundry to run a series of tests to determine how much energy each console uses, per hour, doing a range of different things: in standby mode, idling on the menu, playing a game, and so on. Digital Foundry’s Tom Morgan then recorded the numbers in a table for this article.
There are a few things worth noting about the numbers. The electricity price we used to calculate costs is 34 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh), because that’s the current cap for a unit of electricity in the UK.
We haven’t included gaming PCs in our roundup because there are too many variables involved when testing them, and we haven’t included TV or AVR equipment power use for similar reasons, though it’s absolutely worth considering them when at home.