Is the search page, Blackle.com, really an energy efficient alternative
to Google? The theory is websites with black background save energy. That claim is based
on an assumption that "a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or
light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Is this a
blatant green washed marketing ploy, or an earnest energy saving tweak
for something we use every day?
To find out, PCSTATS hooked up an Extech Power Analyzer to a 19"
CRT and a 19" LCD. One explorer window, set to full screen (1280x1024) was opened to each of the following websites.
Blackle's claims appear to hold water, although the
difference is just 17.7W and 3.8W for CRT and LCD respectively. What that adds
up to over the course of a year, for every second you spend doing a search on
Google is anyone's guess.
The resulting monitor power consumption to display a webpage fluctuated as shown
below:
|
19" CRT ADI Microscan |
19" LCD Samsung 192MP |
| Google.com |
83.5 Watts |
38.6 Watts |
| Blackle.com |
65.8 Watts |
34.8 Watts |
| PCSTATS.com |
76.2 Watts |
37.8 Watts |
Testing the internet: where monitor power consumption
is potentially wasted
Expanding on
the Blackle.com vs. Google.com question further, how
many website designers out there have considered the electrical impact of their
creations on monitor power consumption? Few, I'd wager. PCSTATS certainly
never considered this...
Before comparing Google vs. Blackle we wouldn't have thought that
the colours used in web design would have a significant impact
on energy consumed by the display device. Yet faced with the lower energy
useage that Blackle.com proves is possible with crafty use of dull dark
colours and stationary images, we got to wondering. What is the carbon footprint
of some of the most popular websites out there? How about websites that focus on
environmentally friendly design, products, lifestyles and energy sources? Are
there websites which disseminate this timely and important information using an
power sensitive colour scheme?
I know, I know, this all sounds pretty ridiculous. But since PCSTATS has an electronic power
meter which can actually measure the amount of energy it takes a monitor
(LCD and CRT) to display any given website, we've actually got a valid set
of criteria to look at.
| Monitor Power Consumption - Black & White |
| |
|
19" CRT ADI Microscan E66 |
19" LCD Samsung 192MP |
 |
Reference - full screen white |
85.1 W |
38.4 W |
 |
Reference - full screen black
|
63.6 W |
34.0 W |
|
|
|
|
|
Solid Colours and Computer monitor power
consumption
Darker shades seem to influence the power draw from monitors the least. Given
the infinite variety of CRT colours, and the 16.7M shades an LCD display can
represent, we're going to keep things simple. Using the 16 colours and shades
below, we tested monitor power consumption with full screens of each colour.
Here are the results:
Monitor Power Consumption - Solid
Colours
(Full screen, solid colour) |
| Colour
|
19" CRT ADI Microscan |
19" LCD Samsung 192MP |
|
72.2W |
37.2W |
|
78.9W |
38.7W |
|
69.9W |
37.6W |
|
74.9W |
38.9W |
|
68.5W |
37.4W |
|
77.4W |
38.2W |
|
Greyscales and Computer monitor power
consumption
Next we performed the same test with a few shades of greyscale.
Monitor Power Consumption -
Greyscales
(Full screen, solid colour) |
| Grey |
19" CRT ADI Microscan |
19" LCD Samsung
192MP |
|
84.9W |
40.0W |
|
76.8W |
39.3W |
|
70.8W |
38.9W |
|
69.8W |
38.5W |
|
66.3W |
38.1W |
|
63.5W |
35.5W | |
Testing Websites and Monitor Power
Consumption
Here are a few websites which we measured the monitor power consumption
for. First up, the websites that promote industrial and
green design.
| Industrial and Sustainable Design - Measuring Website Energy Efficiency |
| (click to open) |
Website |
19" CRT ADI Microscan E66 |
19" LCD Samsung
192MP
(1280x1024) |
 |
Core77.com |
78.4 W |
38.2 W |
 |
Inhabitat.com |
76.4 W |
38.3 W |
 |
Mocoloco.com |
80.1 W |
38.7 W |
 |
Treehugger.com |
75.0 W |
38.1 W |
|
|
|
|
|
A full crop of review and technology websites are up next, then it's onto
Social networking, News and Shopping related sites. When it comes to power consumption, which website is the
worst on the wattage?
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