In the UK, it is suggested that consoles should not be left in ‘sleep’ mode to reduce electricity bills. A report from one of the biggest energy suppliers warns against consumer waste.

Electricity bills are still high, both in Hungary and in Europe, and the war in Ukraine could add to this. What can we as consumers do to reduce it? To reduce electricity bills in the UK, it is suggested that gamers do not leave consoles in ‘rest’ mode. In the UK, the energy supplier British Gas has seen fit to warn consumers about the dangers of ‘electric vampires’, devices connected to the grid when switched off, increasing consumption in homes and the country.

The document, shared by Eurogamer, says that care should be taken not to leave devices such as televisions, laptops and consoles unplugged in a bid to save money and so reduce the high bills that Britons face. The British Gas report goes further, blaming these user habits for causing unnecessary spending on the planet, which has triggered an avalanche of criticism on social networks.

Yet the energy supplier estimates that each family could save up to £147 a year by implementing such recommendations, by getting rid of unnecessary consumption of video game consoles in every household.

But the report has been questioned, Eurogamer claims, as it appears to have used data from outdated devices to make its calculations. In addition, the British portal’s article also claims that it is not entirely correct that the consumer is blamed for the high electricity bills.

Whatever the case, tech giants such as console manufacturers are serious about saving energy on their devices. This is the case with Microsoft, which announced in March that it had made power-saving mode the default option in the default settings for Xbox consoles. What’s more, it now checks and downloads updates even when not in use.

Source: Eurogamer