Blackle
Type of site | Search engine |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, Portuguese, French, Czech, Italian |
| Owner | Heap Media Australia |
| Created by | Toby Heap[1] |
| URL | http://www.blackle.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | No |
Blackle is a for-profit website powered by Google Custom Search and run by Heap Media Australia, which aims to save energy by displaying a black background color for search result pages.[1][2]
Concept
The concept behind Blackle is that computer monitors can be made to consume less energy by displaying darker colors. Blackle is based on a study which tested a variety of CRT and LCD monitors.[3][4]
This concept was first brought to the attention of Heap Media by a blog post, which estimated that Google could save 750.0 megawatt-hours a year by utilizing it for CRT screens.[5][1] The homepage of Blackle provides a count of the number of megawatt-hours that have supposedly been saved by enabling this concept.
Criticism
The creators of Blackle have been criticized for lack of clarity regarding the type, size and manufacturer of monitor that the power usage claims refer to. Darren Yates, a technology journalist who reviews computer hardware, tested 4 CRT monitors and 23 LCD monitors, and found that the high result numbers shown in calculations made by the blog post that Blackle uses to justify its savings abilities, were incorrect and slightly lower.[citation needed] The LCD monitors tested showed increased power use in the majority of cases, although most of the larger (24 inch) monitors did use less power displaying a black screen.
According to science writer/broadcaster/microbiologist Bernie Hobbs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television show Can We Help? using Blackle will only save energy when using old CRT monitors and that LCD ones won't save any energy at all. She says that to save more energy you're better off recycling any old CRT monitors and replacing them with new flat screen ones.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).
Relative to other energy saving initiatives, it has been suggested that the energy saving of Blackle is small. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium of large software and hardware vendors, that promotes efficient computing on a large scale, forecasted a power saving of only 10,000 Megawatts by 2010. [6]
References
- ^ a b c Moses, Asher (2007-08-01). "Search site cashes in on eco-guilt". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Google goes black to go green". Metro. 2007-07-30.
- ^ Roberson, Judy; Homan, Gregory; Mahajan, Akshay; Nordman, Bruce; Webber, Carrie; Brown, Richard; McWhinney, Marla; Koomey, Jonathan (July 2002), Energy Use and Power Levels in New Monitors and Personal Computers (PDF)
- ^ Monitor Energy Information for Energy Star, United States Department of Energy
- ^ Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year, by ecoIron. The blog post by that inspired Blackle.
- ^ "Google Joins Energy Saving Initiative". Submit Express. 2007-06-18.
External links
- Official website
- Is black the new green?, Official Google blog