Blackle - Not Quite Green

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how Blackle promises to save as much as 15 watts simply by rendering the Google Search webpage in black. However, detailed testing by Techblogg.com involving 27 different monitors revealed that, although Blackle did reduce energy consumption in CRT monitors, it wasn’t really by 15 watts as Blackle claimed.

Moreover, when accessed using an LCD monitor, Blackle actually consumed more power than regular Google. But, the power consumption difference in LCD monitors between Blackle and Google is actually so small (an increase of 100mW or 0.1Watts). Thus, it doesn’t really matter if you use either site.

With Blackle and other so-called green Googles revealed to be not really as green as they claim to be, Techblogg suggests better, tried and tested ways to reduce power consumption with computers.

1. Turn off your PC after work.
2. Drop the screen brightness.
3. Switch off your ADSL modem at night.
4. Switch everything of the wall.
5. Set your desktop PC management.

It's a no-brainer actually - the best way to keep the power bills down is simply to turn the thing off and pull the plugs when not in use. However, when in use, I keep my monitor’s brightness and contrast level as low as my eyes can possibly allow. But still, I’m guilty of keeping my PC on overnight often, especially when I’m downloading large files. Yikes. Hehe.

By the way, I’ve been planning to replace this CRT monitor with a new LCD monitor, which I heard is much more energy-efficient than the former. Any suggestions where I can purchase an inexpensive but reliable LCD monitor? :-)