How Many Watts Does an Xbox One Use?
The popularity of gaming consoles and rising electricity costs might have you wondering how many watts does an Xbox One use?
This article will provide practical power consumption numbers for the Xbox One, Xbox One S, and the Xbox One X in a variety of modes, such as gaming, streaming, scrolling the menu, idle and off. In addition, this article will tell you how much it costs to power these Xbox One consoles for an hour, a day and a year.
Highlights:
- The Xbox One uses 120 watts while playing games.
- The Xbox One uses much less power, between 0.5 and 40 watts, while streaming, menu scrolling and shutdown.
- The Xbox One S uses 90 watts while playing games.
- The Xbox One S uses much less power, between 0.5 and 31 watts, while streaming, menu scrolling and shutdown.
- The Xbox One X uses 180 watts while playing games.
- The Xbox One X uses much less power, between 0.5 and 50 watts, while streaming, menu scrolling and shutdown.
To help compare the power usage between the three different Xbox One consoles we’ve tabulated and summarized the different modes and power dissipation, in watts, in the table below.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | 0.5 watts | 0.5 watts | 0.5 watts |
| Menu Scrolling | 35 watts | 27 watts | 45 watts |
| Streaming | 40 watts | 31 watts | 50 watts |
| Gaming | 120 watts | 90 watts | 180 watts |
Gaming clearly requires the most power from the Xbox One, S and X, but it’s worth noting that streaming uses a lot of electricity too just to watch TV.
By only using the TV and it’s WiFi connection, or an Amazon Firestick, to do TV streaming, you will save a lot of power and money compared to using the Xbox One to stream movie, videos and Youtube.
How Much Energy Does an Xbox One Consume?
Energy is measured by multiplying the power used over a time period. Energy is commonly measured in units of kilowatt-hours, which means 1 kilowatt of power used for 1 hour, and it is abbreviated as kWh.
Since Xbox One power consumption depends on the mode of the console, you need to add up and average the usage in the different modes (shutdown, menu scrolling, streaming and gaming) over time to get an accurate value.
Based on this study of the average gaming playtime, the average gamer plays 8.6 hours per week!
This streaming study shows that people stream about 1 hour and 22 minutes per day, so we will use that number for our Xbox One power consumption calculation.
The following table shows the hourly, daily, yearly breakdown for hours in each console mode.
| Mode | Hourly | Daily | Yearly |
| Shutdown | 0 hours | 21.4 hours | 7811 hours |
| Streaming | 0 hours | 1.37 hours | 500 hours |
| Gaming | 1 hour | 1.23 hours | 449 hours |
Now that we know how long the Xbox One, S and X are in each mode, we can easily calculate how much power they dissipate per hour, day, month and year.
We will simply multiply the power, in watts, by the time, in hours, and then divide it by 1000 to calculate the energy used by the Xbox One in kilowatt-hours.
How Much Power Does an Xbox One Use Per Hour?
For the hourly calculation we simply used the Xbox One gaming power consumption because it’s the most power and most meaningful power number to list for each Xbox One console.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | 0 kWh | 0 kWh | 0 kWh |
| Streaming | 0 kWh | 0 kWh | 0 kWh |
| Gaming | 0.120 kWh | 0.090 kWh | 0.180 kWh |
| Total | 0.120 kWh | 0.090 kWh | 0.180 kWh |
How Much Power Does an Xbox One Use Per Day?
For the daily power calculation we took into account the power dissipation during shutdown, streaming and gaming modes.
We calculated the shutdown time based by substracting the average streaming and gaming times from 24 hours.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | 0.011 kWh | 0.011 kWh | 0.011 kWh |
| Streaming | 0.055 kWh | 0.042 kWh | 0.069 kWh |
| Gaming | 0.148 kWh | 0.111 kWh | 0.221 kWh |
| Total | 0.214 kWh | 0.164 kWh | 0.301 kWh |
How Much Power Does an Xbox One Use Per Month?
Getting the monthly Xbox One power numbers was easy since we had it available for one day.
We used 30 days in a month to calculate the monthly Xbox One energy usage in the table below.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | 0.330 kWh | 0.330 kWh | 0.330 kWh |
| Streaming | 1.650 kWh | 1.260 kWh | 2.070 kWh |
| Gaming | 4.440 kWh | 3.330 kWh | 6.630 kWh |
| Total | 6.420 kWh | 4.920 kWh | 9.030 kWh |
How Much Power Does an Xbox One Use Per Year?
We simply multiplied the monthly power numbers by 12 to get an estimate for Xbox One console energy consumption for a year.
As a comparison, these energy numbers are very similar to how much power a modern TV uses.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | 3.960 kWh | 3.960 kWh | 3.960 kWh |
| Streaming | 19.800 kWh | 15.120 kWh | 24.840 kWh |
| Gaming | 53.280 kWh | 39.960 kWh | 79.560 kWh |
| Total | 77.040 kWh | 59.040 kWh | 108.360 kWh |
Why Do Xbox Ones Use So Much Power?
Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X consoles use a lot of electricity in order to produce the high-quality graphics needed for console gaming.
High-end graphic processor units (GPU) and processors are required to produce the high-definition 1080P resolution for the Xbox One and the 2160P resolutions for both the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.
In addition, the gigabytes of memory, flash and storage space also require power to run the consoles.
Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X Hardware Specs
The following table provides the relevant Xbox One hardware specifications.
| Specs | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Dimensions | 13.5 x 10.4 x 3.14 in | 11.6 x 9.1 x 2.5 in | 11.8 x 9.4 x 2.4 in |
| Weight | 7.8 pounds | 6.4 pounds | 8.4 pounds |
| Graphics / GPU | Custom AMD GPU @ 853MHz, 12 CUs, 1.3 TFLOPS | Custom AMD Radeon integrated GPU @ 914MHz, 12 CUs, 1.4 TFLOPS | Custom AMD integrated GPU @ 1172GHz, 40 CUs, Polaris features, 6.0 TFLOPs |
| Processor | Custom AMD Jaguar CPU @ 1.75GHz with 8 cores | Custom AMD Jaguar CPU @ 1.75GHz with 8 cores | Custom AMD Jaguar CPU @ 2.3GHz with 8 cores |
| Memory | 8GB DDR3 @ 68GB/s, 32 MB ESRAM @ 20GB/s | 8GB GDDR3 @ 68 GB/s 32MB ESRAM @ 218GB/s | 12GB GDDR5 @ 326GB/s |
| Flash | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 500GB, 1TB HDD | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB HDD | 1TB HDD |
| Disc Drive | Blu-ray | 4K UHD Blu-ray | 4K UHD Blu-ray |
| Power Supply | 220W, external | 120W, internal | 245W, internal |
| Resolution and Refresh | 1080p @ 60Hz | 2160p @ 60Hz | 2160p @ 60Hz AMD FreeSync HDMI Variable Refresh Rate |
| HDR10 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Video Codecs | HDCP 1.4 | HDCP 2.2 | HDCP 2.2 |
| HDMI Audio / Encoded | AVC/H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, VC1/WMv9 | HEVC/H.265, VP9, AVC/H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, VC1/WMv9 | HEVC/H.265, VP9, AVC/H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, VC1/WMv9 |
| S/PDIF Audio / Encoded | Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM 2.0, 5.1 & 7.1, Dolby TrueHD w/Atmos | Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM 2.0, 5.1 & 7.1, Dolby TrueHD w/Atmos | Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM 2.0, 5.1 & 7.1, Dolby TrueHD w/Atmos |
| Wireless | Dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrums, compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n networks | IEEE 802.11ac dual-band (5GHz & 2.4GHz), 2×2 wireless Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct for home networks | IEEE 802.11ac dual-band (5GHz & 2.4GHz), 2×2 wireless Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct for home networks |
| Ethernet | IEEE 802.3 10/100/1000 | IEEE 802.3 10/100/1000 | IEEE 802.3 10/100/1000 |
| USB Ports | 3x USB 3.0 | 3x USB 3.0 | 3x USB 3.0 |
| HDMI Out | 1.4b | 2.0a | 2.0b |
| HDMI In | 1.4b | 1.4b | 1.4b |
Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X Power Supplies
The various Xbox One consoles all have unique power supplies due to their different power needs.
Each of the power supplies, along with how much power they might draw, are detailed below.
Xbox One External Power Supply
The Xbox One has an external, 220W power supply module.
The power supply has an AC input voltage range from 100-240VAC and has a 12VDC at 17.9A output and a 5VDC at 1A output.
Many third party replacement power supplies exist for the Xbox One, and it is much easier to replace than one of the internal ones on the S and X consoles.
Power efficiency is typically in the 85-90% range for offline, AC power supplies this this, which means that the 220W power supply may draw up to 259W at full power!
You can expect some power losses in the cabling between the power supply brick and the Xbox One console. Inside of the console there will be additional power losses converting the 12VDC voltage down to the lower voltages needed to power the GPU, processors, memory and peripherals.
Xbox One S Internal Power Supply
The Xbox One S has an internal, 120W power supply module.
The official name for is is the AC adapter brick PA-1131013MX or N15-120P1A, in case you are looking for a replacement power supply for a failed one.
Offline power supplies like this are typically 85-90% efficient, which means that this 120W power supply could actually use up to 141W at full power!
The power supply has an AC input voltage range from 100-240VAC and has an output of 12VDC at 10A.
Power supplies have power losses in the conversion from AC power to DC power, which is what’s used by the electronic boards with the GPU, processors and memory on them. In addition, there’s circuitry to perform power factor correction (PFC) to make sure the power supply does inject noise onto the 120VAC power system.
Xbox One X Internal Power Supply
The Xbox One X has an internal, 245W power supply module.
Offline power supplies are usually 85-90% efficient, which means that this 245W power supply could use up to 288W at full power!
This power supply has an AC input voltage range from 100-240VAC and has an output of 12VDC at 20.48A.
Like the Xbox One S power supply, all of this power is needed for the electronics, GPUs, processors, memory and wired and wireless peripherals. This power supply will also have power factor correction circuitry to minimize noise on the input AC voltage.
How to Measure Xbox One Power Usage
It’s very easy to measure Xbox One power usage.
An outlet power meter, like the one shown below, provides how much power is being used by the Xbox One console when it is plugged into it.
You should place the Xbox One console in the various power modes (standby, menu scrolling, streaming, or gaming) and see just how much power is being consumed by the console.
Most of the time people do not care how much power they are using unless they are on a constrained power system, like a battery bank or in an RV with limited current capacity.
Regardless, these outlet power meters are a great way to measure Xbox One console power consumptions, which can easily be calculated into how much that will cost in electricity!
Xbox One Energy Saving Tips
Even though the Xbox One consoles consume a lot of power when streaming or playing games, there are some simple steps you can take to reduce power usage when not playing games or watching videos.
- Turn off the console when you are done using it. You can do this manually after you finishing playing, or you can also set a timer to turn the console off after 30 or 60 minutes by default.
- Unplug the console power cord from the wall outlet. This can be tedious to do every time you want to play, but it’s the simplest and cheapest option to save energy and money.
- Plug the console into a programmable outlet. Program the outlet to shutdown off power to the Xbox One console at pre-determined times, like at night, to save power and money while you sleep.
- Use a power strip with an internal timer in it. This is a great idea to limit how long each gaming session lasts and will save power when the console isn’t being used for streaming or gaming.
- Reduce the resolution and frame rate. While you probably want the best quality settings for most gaming, some games don’t require it and you won’t notice a difference in the gameplay.
How Much Does an Xbox One Cost to Run?
Based on the average gaming and streaming data, the cost to run an Xbox One is as follows:
- The Xbox One console costs $12.34 per year to run.
- The Xbox One S console costs $9.26 per year to run.
- The Xbox One X console costs $17.35 per year to run.
It’s worth mentioning that the Xbox One console running costs are only one part of the electricity costs associated to using them. You should also calculate how much electricity is used and costs to run the TV or monitor that the games are being viewed on.
How to Calculate How Much an Xbox One Costs in Electricity
Calculating how much electricity costs to run an Xbox One is simple given all of the data provided in this post.
You simply need to figure out how much time the console is in each mode, in hours, and then you multiply that time the power consumed, in watts. Once you have this number for one day, you can multiply that times 30 days to get an approximate value for one month.
Divide that number by 1000 to get the number in kWh units, which is what the power company charges you on your electric bill.
Look at your electric bill to determine your kWh rate, which is usually between $0.15-0.20 per kWh.
Multiply those two numbers together to finish calculating the monthly costs of running an Xbox One.
How Much Does an Xbox One Cost to Run Per Year
The following table provides the costs to run an Xbox One, S, and X console for one year based on the power usage calculated earlier in this post.
| Mode | Xbox One | Xbox One S | Xbox One X |
| Shutdown | $0.64 | $0.64 | $0.64 |
| Streaming | $3.17 | $2.42 | $3.98 |
| Gaming | $8.53 | $6.40 | $12.73 |
| Total | $12.34 | $9.26 | $17.35 |