According to a new study, it has been found that gamers in the US consume about 34 terawatt-hours of energy every year, which is equivalent to the carbon emissions from more than 5 million cars.
The study “Toward Greener Gaming: Estimating National Energy Use and Energy Efficient Potential” got published in The Computer Gamers Journal. The researchers note that the electricity consumed by gamers account for 2.4% of residential electricity. Take a look at the below image for a comparative analysis of annual electricity consumption in the US.
As per the findings, consoles were responsible for 66% of power consumption when it comes to gaming. PC desktops accounted for a much lower 31% while laptops consumed a mere 3%.
Even though PCs were responsible for comparatively lower power consumption, the researchers say that PCs tend to be less efficient than consoles on high-end gaming setups including overclocked CPUs and multiple 4K gaming monitors.
The study doles out various recommendations to make the overall efficiency of gaming setups better like using in-game diagnostics. It recommends avoiding the use of overclocked CPUs and 4K displays that consume a significant amount of power. Using V-Sync is also recommended as the researchers found it to reduce energy use up to 39%.
“Targeted hardware and software strategies can reduce the gaming energy use by approximately half, while maintaining or improving metrics of user experience. In addition to system designers, gamers and game developers can play a significant role in managing the energy required for gaming”, notes the researchers.
If you’re interested to read the entire study, check out the article here. So, what do you think of these findings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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