Can Black Google Save You Energy?

Joann Hong — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:44:55 +0000

An Australian company, Heap, has come up with a search engine that could Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year. How will they do it? They've turned Google black.

According to their website:

"Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002"

From what I've read, there is some debate on whether the energy saving is significant or not. This Wall Street Journal article mentions a test which was performed using different screens and websites to compare the actual energy saved. On the LCD screen, there wasn't a remarkable difference, but on a CRT screen (the bulkier PC monitors) you could save from "5-20%". However, it is noted that the test was loosely run.

For those who are wondering, Google claims it has no affiliation with Blackle. The two websites actually bring up different results so perhaps, even if it doesn't save a significant amount of energy, it could be useful as an alternative search engine.

And to see for yourself, of course, visit www.blackle.com.

This article is from Joann Hong of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: