Google Blackle -Pt2

March 31, 2008 on 8:48 am | In Other-NewMedia, - Jauretsi |

Hoodwinked?

If you read my post on Saturday, you would have noticed the fact that Google’s homepage was set to Blackle all weekend to announce Earth Hour Day. The theory is that the black screen saves energy in contrast to the usual “energy sucking” white homepage. At least that’s what we’re told.

The people who created Blackle estimated that a black Google page would save 750 megawatt-hours a year — 1 megawatt-hour is the equivalent of 10,000 light bulbs (100 watt bulbs) burning continuously for 1 hour, according to Wikipedia. I asked my web guy, Jack Furious, who’s my “word on the street” for tech talk, and here’s what he said:

“It does not necessarily save you energy by using that search page. It depends on your monitor. So my suggestion is if you really are into to being green and everything, research your monitor and see if it’s one that actually saves energy by using it.”

After some more research, apparently others feel the same way as additional tech journalists have tested out CRT moniters (cathode ray tube) and LCD/Flatscreens (Liquid Crystal Display) to see if energy is truly saved with a black screen. In some tests, the LCD’s hogged up MORE energy trying to display the black screens!

(LCD Flatscreens vs CRT Moniters)

Conclusion: I still respect Google and their attempts to promote Earth Hour Day, despite all their “haters” (see Walter Mossberg of The New York Times), but it is healthy to question everything you read so we don’t end up becoming some fashionable faux-conserving community burning more energy (because of some cute homepage PR pitch).

Jack Furious suggests these things:

(1) Turn off your computer at the end of the day instead of using a screen saver. It takes energy to run the screensaver program.

(2) At the end of the day, turn of your power strip with all your peripherals, which also use energy.

(3) Use the “power-saving” feature built into your computer, even if your using a desktop. This includes dimming your screen and spinning down your hard drive.

His final words: “These things will actually save a lot more energy than putting on some black web page.”