This is exceptional because of how a single change can make such a potentially large impact.
When your screen is white - an empty word page, or the Google page, your computer consumes 74 watts, and when it’s black it consumes only 59 watts. Mark Ontkush wrote an article about the energy saving that would be achieved if Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views. According to his calculations, 750 mWh per year would be saved. That’s the kWh per year that 1,000 average US refrigerators would use. Ok, so it’s not an enormous amount to stave off global warming, but it’s significant just by doing something small like changing the color. (Of course in the world of graphic or visual design, changing a color isn’t small.)
In a response to this article Google created a black version of its search engine, called BLACKLE, with the exact same functions as the white version but with a lower energy consumption. Check it out !
Strategists & Planners
Comments (13)
Blackle.com it is! — I would be thrilled to use this over the white page. Personally, I prefer dark pages to light pages on sites regardless because its easier on the eye, I spend the majority of the day using a computer, and I'm more likely to read text I would have missed because it draws my attention to the content while the background sinks.
If the reasoning is to save energy to help our world, even better.
I can think back to a time ago while sitting in a web design class thinking about use of white and why we would want to use so much white while concerned with screen saving and energy, though no one seemed to be interested. I find it more intriguing when a site is color rich or dark anyway (provided it doesn't use offensive typography combinations).
Posted by Jennifer Quigley | July 24, 2007 4:28 PM
Posted on July 24, 2007 16:28
The idea is great, but the concept is based on a 5 year old report. The main difference was due to CRT's. Most CRT's last 3-5 years before dying. If you go to any electronics reseller, you will be very lucky to find one model of a crt for sale. Everything is LCD now. Based on their findings, the power consumption difference between black and white on LCD's is minimal. There is some benefit, but the overall savings is far less than what they try to convey.
Displays are also benefitting from newer, more efficient technology. OLED and LED lighting is cutting consumption down even further. As time progresses, the overall environmental benefit of using this page will be erased.
Posted by metfoo | July 24, 2007 4:58 PM
Posted on July 24, 2007 16:58
Great article.Is this site actually run by Google though, at the bottom it says copyright 2007 Heap media?
Posted by David | July 25, 2007 9:38 AM
Posted on July 25, 2007 09:38
You might want to note that Blackle is just the first page of www.searchincolor.com, a site which has offered google search in color since a much longer time. There are other color combinations on searchincolor which are energy saving..in general a dark background with light text will save energy over a standard white background.
John
Posted by John | July 27, 2007 12:45 PM
Posted on July 27, 2007 12:45
If you prefer white-on-black screens, you could change the settings in your operating system to display all your programs this way. In Windows there is a theme called "high contrast" for this.
In Windows XP, simply right-click your desktop and select "properties" in the context menu that appears. A "Display Properties" form will appear. Click on the "Appearance" tab at the top of this form. Then set the "Windows and buttons" select box to "Windows classic style". Finally, set the "Color Scheme" select box to the color scheme called "high contrast #1". Voila! All of your programs and any web page that doesnt explicitly set the background color in the stylesheet will be white text on a black background.
You can also click the "Advanced" button to manually set your colours without using a theme. Personally I like to set my background to a turquoise because I find that it is easy on the eyes.
Posted by Jakub Kozlowski | July 31, 2007 6:29 AM
Posted on July 31, 2007 06:29
I find the other version www.Darkoogle.com is more easier to read since they uses green text just like the old days. Green text are more easy for our eyes and reduce eye strain.
Posted by Seth | August 3, 2007 5:19 AM
Posted on August 3, 2007 05:19
I find the other version www.Darkoogle.com is more easier to read since they uses green text just like the old days. Green text are more easy for our eyes and reduce eye strain.
Posted by Seth | August 3, 2007 5:24 AM
Posted on August 3, 2007 05:24
There are loads of 'em out there.
http://www.dooblavay.com/search/search.aspx is another one.
James
Posted by James Mattheson | August 13, 2007 5:36 AM
Posted on August 13, 2007 05:36
I prefer black to white anyday!
Posted by sigmund freud | October 15, 2007 10:40 PM
Posted on October 15, 2007 22:40
Well doesn't this website have a white background? SO aren't you being slightly contradictary
Posted by smartgirl63 | November 23, 2007 12:53 PM
Posted on November 23, 2007 12:53
There is also the Carbon Neutral Search Engine -http://www.carbonneutralsearch.co.uk - it uses Google Custom Search but offsets a minimum of 100g of CO2 per search, saving energy and the environment
Posted by Energy Saver | December 18, 2007 6:10 AM
Posted on December 18, 2007 06:10
There are around 25 different versions of “black google” online. The best one I’ve found is www.cleanblack.com. Cleanblack is the only version that allows you to change the text colors of the google search results. Try it yourself by going to www.cleanblack.com/theme/
Posted by geminihunter | August 15, 2008 5:10 AM
Posted on August 15, 2008 05:10
There are around 25 different versions of “black google” online. The best one I’ve found is www.cleanblack.com. Cleanblack is the only version that allows you to change the text colors of the google search results. Try it yourself by going to www.cleanblack.com/theme/
Posted by geminihunter | August 15, 2008 5:12 AM
Posted on August 15, 2008 05:12