According to the folks at Blackle (who were inspired by a post on ecoIron), presenting the Google search pages on a black screen would conserve something like 750 megawatt-hours a year.*
There is an argument that the cost in readability, as well as the very small actual savings per view (74 watts for an all-white page, 59 watts for an all-black page), make this a questionable idea. On the other hand, the Blackle folks suggest that, if nothing else, using their version of the Google engine is a daily reminder that “we need to keep taking small steps to save energy”.
The DOE’s EnergyStar site has a nice little chart displaying the power use differences of various screen colors. If you are involved in web development, you may want to take that data into account.
*LCD screens use a permanently-on back-light; Their energy use remains the same, no matter the screen color. As of January 2007, 74.7% of all computer monitors are LCD. The above savings estimate of 750 megawatt-hours takes that information into account. If you’d like to learn more, go to ecoIron’s January archives and read the fascinating research and responses that followed the original “Black Google” post.
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Since it is is common knowledge that black pages in general don’t do anything productive, I would suggest http://www.regrowgle.com as an alternative.
I know it’s not the answer to everything, but unlike blackle etc who are making money from uneducated searchers, regrowgle re-invests any profit back into environmental schemes in a bid to try and offset a small part of your web use.
I agree, Angela. I find it a lot easier to look at than the others!
I prefer using http://www.Darkoogle.com as their text are green which reduce eye strain. So instead of saving energy from our monitor, it also save our user’s eye energy.
Thanks Ian,
Checking it now…
Hm… I like the home page on blackgoogle better, but I find green and gold results page too busy, and distracting. I guess it will be a matter of taste and preference for users.
http://www.blackgoogle.co.uk does something very similar (and looks much nicer).