The Hindu Business Line : A Web site goes `black' to save energy

Bangalore June 18 Save energy. Go black online. A Sydney-based firm, Heap Media, has put up a Web site that is all black in an attempt to save energy.

www.blackle.com is a search engine that allows you to perform a Google search while saving energy. Google's popularity led Heap Media to choose this site to offer in a subdued colour format. Blackle uses just grey fonts on a simple black background. It recreates the Google experience, and serves up results using dim off-white links. When you concurrently click on the links, the Web sites are displayed in their original colour.

A Google spokesperson said that it was not a company product.

The idea sprang a few months ago from a blog by US environmentalist Mr Mark Ontkush. In his Weblog, Mr Ontkush observed that to display an all-white Web page would consume 74 Watts of power, while an all-black one used 59 Watts.

According to his theory, if the bright Google site were recreated in darker colours, it would save the world 750 megawatt-hours a year.

"While LCD screens do not show as much difference between different screen colours (due to most of the power being used for the backlight, which is always on) there are still a decent number of people using (as opposed to buying) CRT monitors. Also, many of the next generation monitor technologies do not have a constant backlight so they would be expected to show a significant difference between black and white. Taking all of this into account I decided to start Blackle because even if the energy savings are small, they are representative of the need for each of us to start taking small steps to save energy. My hope is that by setting Blackle as their home page people will be reminded of this need to save energy each time they go online," said Mr Toby Heap, in a reply to Business Line.

These options are now available, if you are willing to adapt. Laptop and monitor makers have been advising users on `inverting' the colours on your monitor would save power; however, there are not many takers.

The use of darker colours will also help your laptop last longer through the day. So do your bit to save the world.

More power saving methods

Energy consciousness has reached new peaks this year, and here are some ways you as a PC user can help conserve it:

`Invert' the colours on your monitor. Choose darker themes and palettes. It will not only save Wattage-costs but also increase the life of your laptop.

Remove the wallpaper, reduce the brightness of the monitor and make the screensaver a blank one.

If you search a lot online, use www.blackle.com, which is similar to Google search.

Shut down your desktop if you don't plan to return for an hour.

Use power saving features included in your laptop - which will dim the monitor in five minutes if it detects non-usage.

Turn off the monitor while stepping out of your room. The computer will continue to run, and none of the applications will stop working. Monitors use most of the power being supplied to your computer.

If you use a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor, switch to an LCD (liquid crystal display) one. It will also recover faster when you switch it on after that break.

More Stories on : Internet | New Products & Services | Power

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Bay `low' could deepen into depression: IMD

Army, Navy refuse to give up radio frequency

Anil Ambani group pitches for transparent norms for Reliance's K-G gas pricing

`Time ripe for increasing FDI in textile sector'

Cranes buys Dunn Solutions, Tilak AutoTech for Rs 70 cr

IT & BPO sector notches up $860 m in M&A deals

A Web site goes `black' to save energy

HDFC, Barclays shed stake in BPO firm

Film export promotion council on the cards

UTI Mutual Fund eyeing more Asian markets

Re-rating talk pushes up Zensar

Global operations doing well, says ICICI Bank

PNB drops equity offer plan

Exporters find domestic cashew market lucrative