Xbox becomes the First Carbon Aware Console. Energy saving features are rolling to all users soon.

Microsoft's Xbox is now the first gaming device to offer carbon aware game downloads and upgrades. Microsoft's Windows Update became carbon aware last year for Windows 11 PCs. With a bigger percentage of electricity coming from low-carbon sources on the electric grid, Xbox will schedule game, app, and OS upgrades for your console at certain times within the nightly maintenance window.

Energy-saving options for your Xbox

Xbox Insiders will find that the Shutdown (energy-saving) power option has been automatically updated on their Xbox Series X|S consoles. The performance, gameplay, or ability of your console to receive overnight updates to its operating system, games, or applications will not be impacted by this one-time update to your power settings. While the console is turned on, remote features are supported; however, remote wake is not supported when the console is turned off. At any time, you can change your settings to suit your needs. Compared to Sleep, Shutdown (energy saving) uses up to 20X less power when the device is turned off.

Enhanced Sustainability Capabilities with "Active hours" and Sleep

The new "Active hours" setting is another energy setting upgrade that will begin to roll out to Xbox Insiders today. You can now change the console's active hours if you choose the Sleep power option. Your Xbox will start up quickly and be awakenable remotely during the times you've designated as active. When the day's active hours are through, your Xbox will completely shut down and use 0.5 W instead of 10-15 W.

Here is how you can turn on the Energy Saving Settings:

1) Select the options the Energy Saving Options

that will help you and your Xbox conserve energy.

2) Choose shutdown (energy saving) as a power option on your Xbox. However if you are not an X box insider you can select the shutdown (energy saving) power option. Go to Settings > General > Power choices to change your settings to the optimum energy-saving option before the automatic update. It will enable carbon-conscious upgrades for your Xbox and aid in power conservatio

3) Make your console “Carbon Aware” – Choose automatic updates. Enable the automatic updating option. Your Xbox will be carbon aware if you've set it up to get automatic updates and have chosen shutdown (energy saving) as a power option.

4)Shutdown sooner when inactive – Select a shorter time period for your Xbox's inactive turn-off. By doing this, you can shorten the period of inactivity before your console turns off . By default, this is set to 1 hour, but by heading to Settings > General > Power choices > Customize power options, you can select a time that is less than an hour..

At the moment, the range of energy saving features is being shared with testers signed up to Microsoft’s Xbox Insiders programme but a general rollout is coming “soon”.

Read more about this initative here