Here’s a scary thought: More than 40 percent of homes in North America have video game console systems and many of those video games systems remain on all the time. Video game systems use up 16 billion kilowatt-hours annually, enough to power a major city for year. An Xbox or a Playstation 3 left on 24/7/365 uses as much energy as two large refrigerators.
If you have a Playstation or Xbox, you can minimize the energy use of these consoles by accessing the auto-power down option. Playstation 3 didn’t even have this option until a few months ago. Watching a Blu-Ray movie on the Playstation 3 uses 5 times more power than watching it on a standard Blu-Ray player.

So what’s the most energy efficient video game system?

The Wii uses only 16 watts of energy while in Active Mode. The Xbox uses 119 and the Playstation uses 150. If you’re deciding on which system to buy and want to pick one with energy-efficiency in mind, the Wii may the perfect system for your (and the planet’s) needs.