Video game consoles consume a "staggeringly high" amount of energy, according to a report the Natural Resources Defense Council is releasing on Wednesday. How much electricity do they use each year? About as much as it takes to power the city of San Diego.

Habits play a crucial role as well. The systems use nearly the same amount of power when they are turned on and idle as they do when you are actively playing a game or watching a movie. If left on continuously, the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 will consume the same amount of energy as two new refrigerators over the course of a year.

# Sony Playstation 3 is the most power-hungry model. For the 2007 version, you'll spend about $12 a year if you turn the console off when you're not using it, compared to about $134 if you leave it on all the time.

# Microsoft Xbox 360 ranks a close second. If you shut it down when you're not playing a game or watching a movie, it costs about $11 to operate annually. Leaving it on continuously will cost you $103.

# Nintendo Wii uses significantly less energy than the others. It costs about $3 a year if you turn it off after use, compared to about $10 if you don't.