As part of Microsoft’s goal to become a carbon-negative, water-use, and zero-waste company by 2030, it’s changing xbox Console updates.
According to the company, it will do this by optimizing updates and downloads to run at times when the console can use the most renewable energy.
This means your Xbox will schedule game, app, or OS updates at specific times during the nightly maintenance window, when a higher percentage of electricity from the grid comes from low-carbon energy sources. So instead of waking up during nightly maintenance between 2am and 6am, your Xbox will wake up when it can use the most renewable energy from your local energy grid.
This setup reduces reliance on fossil fuels and CO2 emissions, and potentially saves you money.
Xbox Insiders will notice that their Xbox Series X/S will automatically switch to the off (save) power option. The update reduces power consumption when the console is off and does not affect performance, gameplay, or the console’s ability to receive nightly updates. Remote functionality is supported when the console is turned on; however, it does not support remote wakeup when the Series X/S is powered off. When the shutdown setting is on, it reduces power consumption by up to 20 times compared to the sleep setting.
Another Power Settings update that will begin rolling out to Xbox Insiders today is the new “Active Hours” setting. When you select the sleep power option, you can adjust how long the console is active. The console will boot quickly and can be remotely woken up at selected active times. When the console’s working day is over, it will be completely off and draw 0.5 W, and 10-15 W when active.
Xbox One consoles have the option to configure active hours, which default to “always active” unless changed.
The update is currently only available to Xbox Insiders using Shutdown, but all Xbox owners will have the opportunity to update soon.
You can learn more about the new setup via Xbox Wire.
