If you own an Xbox in the UK or Europe, it may be time to see what energy mode your console is using. Rising energy costs across the UK and Europe mean that the console’s Instant On standby mode could cost up to £5 per month for many families next month, as the energy cap on prices is expected to rise by a massive 80 per cent in the UK alone. Jumps.

Microsoft offers two power modes on its Xbox console. Instant On puts the Xbox One S and Xbox Series S/X consoles in standby mode that consumes between 11-13 watts (depending on the model) and lets players resume games immediately. Energy Saver mode, by comparison, only consumes 0.5 watts, but that means you have to fully boot the Xbox before you can start playing.

Photo by Tom Warren/The Verge

whereas Microsoft has made Energy Saver Mode the default On Xbox consoles that shipped since March, millions of Xbox One S and Xbox Series X/S consoles will use the more convenient Instant On mode. Over time, this can become quite expensive. If you put the Xbox Series X in Instant On standby mode for 24 hours, this adds up to around £4.93 of monthly energy usage calculated at the upcoming UK price range (52p per kWh). Thank you Alex Herne took to Twitter to highlight the potential costs of Xbox’s Instant On mode.

Even older Xbox One S consoles consume around 11 watts in Instant On mode, so that’s £4.18 per month, and an Xbox Series S Instant On £10 per month based on usage of 10 watts Works up to 3.80. Enabling Energy Saver Mode on any Xbox console will reduce usage to under 20p per month. Of course, using the Xbox console for streaming movies or playing games is changing rates of energy usevery.

While Energy Saver Mode means you’re cold booting your Xbox every time you turn on, Microsoft recently increased the boot time of its consoles. boot process is now 5 seconds faster on Xbox Series X, and even older Xbox One models are booting up faster with Microsoft’s changes. That means you’ll have to wait about 15 seconds on the Xbox Series X/S console from pressing the power button to playing a game, but those seconds could save you close to the cost of a Netflix subscription.

If you own a PS4 it might be worth checking what standby mode you’re using as well. The PlayStation 4 has a variety of standby, rest, and off modes, and some include the ability to charge controllers or download software updates. Default “off” standby mode only 0.5 watts. uses it, but other modes can use up to 3.4 watts. The PS5’s default power saver mode uses 0.5 watts, but with networking enabled in rest mode it can use up to 2 watts. So, it’s a very small savings compared to switching modes for Xbox, but it may still be worth it given the unpredictability of energy prices in the coming months.

If you own a Nintendo Switch, there is nothing to worry about. during active gameplay Switch only uses 7 watts In TV mode, which is significantly less than the Xbox’s Instant On standby mode. When off, the switch uses a maximum of 0.5 watts. And if you’re a PC gamer… well, it’s time to start praying for a quick drop in energy prices in Europe.