Wii owners: setting change saves $10

Did you do the last Tip of the Week – preventing your entertainment center from using electricity while it is ‘off’?

If you’re like us, you don’t need your Wii to be checking it’s mail when you’re not using it (it also checks for news, weather, and posts to the Wii message board). In fact, I find that bright blue light incredibly annoying. I just found out that you can change a single setting and not only stop the annoying blue light, but save 76 kWh per year! At least it’s not a PS3 – now that’s a power hog.

Changing the internet connection setting on your Wii
• From the main ‘Wii Channel’ menu, use the Wii-mote to select the ‘Wii’ button in the bottom left corner.
• From the main Wii Menu and System Settings screen, select the ‘Wii Settings’ option (wrench).

• Use the arrow button on the right of the TV screen to go to ‘Wii System Settings 2′ and select ‘WiiConnect24′ at the bottom.
• If ‘WiiConnect24′ is on, your Wii will connect to the internet and retrieve messages, news, and weather. If ‘Standby Connection’ is also on, your Wii will retrieve this information whether or not your Wii is on. This is what you want to turn off (unless you actually want a blue flashing light demanding you turn on your Wii and look at your mail). Select ‘Standby Connection’ and then ‘Off’. Be sure to press ‘Confirm’ at the bottom of the screen.

Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the thought that those 5 minutes equated to an ‘hourly wage‘ of $120 tax-free. Unless you’re a CEO of a multinational corporation, that’s a lot better than you make at your job.

• Cost: free
• Time: less than 5 minutes
• Annual Savings: $10 or 76 kWh
• Payback time: instantaneous

Hat tip to Shaun for realizing it was possible to reduce the Wii’s energy usage without powering it on and off all the time.