David K. Israel
Top 10 Black Search Engines
by David K. Israel - June 11, 2009 - 7:27 AM

blackle.pngIn 2007, Mark Ontkush, the brain behind ecoIron, wrote an interesting post suggesting that Google could save tens of thousands a year, along with hundreds of Megawatt-hours a year, if they changed their background color from white to black.

The theory, which has been hotly debated, is based on the fact that different colors consume different amounts of energy on computer monitors. However, this is only really true for CRTs, which run much hotter when a white screen is loaded, vis-à-vis a black screen. LCDs, not so much.

darkgoogle.pngSoon after Ontkush’s post hit the front page of Digg.com, Tony Heap, the owner of HeapMedia, started a black Google site called Blackle.com, which uses the Google search engine, but presents the results on a black page. Others soon followed. You may even recall that Google used a black screen last year to help promote Earth Hour.

jabago.pngOn the Google home page, they claimed the because most people in the world had made the switch from CRTs to LCDs, the energy savings of a black search engine added up to practically nothing. Still, the other sites claim they’re doing their part to combat global warming, etc.

Here are the Top 10

1. Blackle.com
2. DarkGoogle.com
3. Jabago.com
4. Earthele.com
5. Greenergle.com
6. Greygle.com
7. Google-black.blogspot.com
8. Ninja.com
9. Power-Google.blogspot.com
10. Trek3d.com/black

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Comments (8)

  1. Unfortunately, its not true that a black background makes you save energy… The LED panels get the same amount of energy whether they’re turned on or off, always. The only difference is the heat. The white screen puts off more heat, but still uses the same amount of energy.

    posted by Kate on 6-11-2009 at 8:01 am

  2. Personally, I’m just more comfortable reading white lettering on a dark page than vice versa. I find myself highlighting virtually every bit of text I read online so that the colors reverse (usually dark blue background with white lettering, instead of black on white). I get frustrated with the Web 2.0 sites that have tons of embedded links that you just have to rollover to open a popup or another page. I’m forever having to close a ton of extra screens. So whether it’s for energy savings or just to save my eyes, give me a dark background any day.

    posted by Kristen on 6-11-2009 at 8:24 am

  3. Staring for hours at a white screen, CRT or LCD or otherwise, is akin to staring into a lightbulb. I prefer dark backgrounds as well. The Twitter client Tweetie has a dark theme. More should.

    posted by AmyD on 6-11-2009 at 10:04 am

  4. When will mental_floss make the switch, if not to black, then maybe a lovely charcoal grey?

    posted by Keeker on 6-11-2009 at 12:00 pm

  5. AmyD, if that’s the case then maybe college students or recent grads should consider a career in ophthalmology, to help treat the eye problems of office workers/cube rats who are at their computer all day long (myself included).

    posted by Kate on 6-11-2009 at 1:30 pm

  6. Actually, white print on a dark background is very friendly for people with low vision. Most find that contrast much easier to read than the glare of a white background, which also blurs the black letters together a little more. So these versions of Google are actually quite accessible!

    posted by dancing_lemur on 6-12-2009 at 2:03 pm

  7. I like the BPLED black google:
    http://uk.bpled.com/black-google.php

    Maybe can you replace it with the broken link number #10?

    posted by Andy on 11-6-2009 at 11:36 am

  8. There is another Black Google, Blackl. I believe it is clearly worthy of that list. It is the only one presenting results with a Google layout (others stack adds at top and bottom of page), uses 100% renewable energy and small data transfers to save energy. Their address is http://www.blackl.com

    posted by John Murray on 3-16-2010 at 2:34 pm

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