Black is the new Green: Myth or Reality?

Blackle claims that if you are using CRT monitors or LCDs of size 24-inch or more, and use Blackle.com it will save lakhs of Watt hours (Actual figures are displayed on their homepage). Blackle is a website powered by Google Custom Search, which aims at saving electricity by displaying a black background color for search results.

Google, on the other hand, claim that making its home page black will not reduce energy consumption. They also add that on flat-panel monitors, displaying black may actually increase energy usage. However, they do agree with the idea of reducing climate change by saving energy and applaud the spirit of such initiatives. This is an important effort that we all should join in especially in India, since it does not have energy in abundance. India still have a long way to go, but do keep in mind that it is still a developing country but is moving closer to the developed country mark very quickly.

While experts debate if black is the new green or not, here are couple of things you can actually start doing at your end to make a significant contribution to the climate changes:

• Turn off your monitor and computer when you are not using them


• Turn down the brightness on your monitor


• Turn on power management features that mostly all OS provides.


• Look for words "EnergyStar 4.0 Compliant" when you purchase your next monitor.