Is It Ok To Leave Your PS5 On Overnight?

PlayStation 5 owners may spend a lot of their time with the system downloading, installing and updating some rather hefty files. Some of the system's titles, after all, boast truly eye-watering file sizes of more than 100GB. Along with the often sizable updates they receive, the system's hard drive space may be eaten up in a trice. The default space on the system is 825GB, but, as with any device, not all of this is free space for a user to fill as they see fit. About 667GB of that is what's actually available. 

To avoid missing out on precious gaming time, some users may opt to let their systems perform updates overnight. It's standard practice to charge devices like smartphones while we sleep so they're juiced up and ready to go the next day, and in essence, it makes sense to do much the same thing with a PS5. 

Naturally, though, owners want to take good care of their consoles. Is it safe to leave the system on for so long, then? Let's take a look at the potential concerns revolving around doing so, and whether they're warranted.

Rest Mode, which can still perform downloads, uses just 1.2W. To employ Rest Mode, select Enter Rest Mode after pressing the PlayStation Button. According to Sony's Energy Efficiency data, a system running a PlayStation 5 title will use around 209.8 W. If left on the home screen, it will consume 45.6 W. 

Rest Mode It will consume just 0.35 W. This mode still boasts fast start-up, and is remarkably energy efficient. As such, users don't necessarily need to ever shut down their PlayStation 5 system entirely. Rest Mode proved problematic at the system's release, even bricking some unfortunate consoles, but stability updates have been implemented since.

Concerns, however, may relate more to the system overheating than energy costs. Keeping fans clear is the first rule of technology. Prolonged gaming sessions are standard for some users, and as the system was created to cater to such, fans won't be adversely affected by them. Though a console can get rather hot, the irksome fan noises high temperatures can incur should be temporary.

There's no "correct" setting to enable with your system, though. It's about player preference. If you've been stung by Rest Mode issues in the past, or heard from others who have, it's best to implement the setting cautiously. Nonetheless, leaving a PlayStation 5 on overnight won't, theoretically, do it any harm.