Power hungry gadgets [Updated]
June 4th, 2008 Posted in Games, NewsI should have expected this, but perhaps I’m a little slow, eh? A number of places (see Gizmodo and The Age for some examples) are reporting that many of today’s little gadgets are costing consumers far more than they imagine- hundreds of dollars a year, they say. Apparently, the PS3 sucks up four times more juice than a refrigerator.. That’s pretty worrying. Especially considering I have a number of gadgets on stand-by 24/7.
I suppose the biggest problem for me (well, it’s a concern, at least) is the fact that I haven’t yet received an electricity bill since I moved back to Oz. I’ve been living in this apartment for over 3 months now, and still no bills… Only phone and Internet bills… This means I could be surprised by a larger-than-expected electricity bill. Especially given that I have an oldish laptop on stand-by or in use all day, and Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on stand-by all day, plus a Bose SoundDock for my iPod, a crappy old TV, a Wireless modem… I’m screwed!
Therefore, I will start to turn off my gadgets completely when I’m not using them. I’m sure I will get a bill very soon (I think they are quarterly, so I should be getting one soon…), so I should be able to compare them in about 3-6 months… That way, we can see if it’s true that these gadgets have such a huge effect on the electricity bills. Of course, I am a lazy soul, so I might not be able to compare anything! If I can be vigilant, and make sure I unplug or turn off at the socket, maybe then we can compare!
Fark… Four times a fridge… Hundreds of dollars… OK, there’s the motivation I needed…
Update: OK, I misunderstood the original article. Kotaku has written it much clearer, and I saw the error of my ways this morning before work. When the testing was being done, the various gadgets were left on but not in use, and not just on stand-by. So, in reality, all my gadgets together probably cost me an extra couple of hundred (Aussie) dollars a year. But I expected that. Yay! Reason not to have to do that test (well, excuse for when I forget)!
*Ahem* Yes, I feel dumb for misreading the other (gulp) two articles.
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