Blackle - For Googlers who want to be in the dark and save energy

[Mr Incredible]

http://www.blackle.com/

 

[Corey USA]

Thanks for the repeat of this link Reason I remember this one is another member had posted the link when I was bring the issue up about trying to get the computer to use less energy.

Njp pointed out it is useless for most laptops and Lcd That does not have a tunable Back light. in that the Back light is what uses the energy. Blackle is primarily for the CRT monitors In that they use more energy producing the white screen.

I Added that if you use a LCD TV as a monitor which usually has a Back light to make them more viewable in bright room conditions and such it was simply best to turn down or turn off the back light so as not to be using the extra light. Dim the room lighting if you can't see it without the back light.

In regards to NEW ultra thin LCd I was looking around and it appears they have a 3 amp. rating, I could not find wattage ratings.

Anybody know the amp to watt rating conversion for the USA (and One for the UK) since our electricity is different. I know the USA has Higher amperage lower wattage, compared to UK.

 

[Mr Incredible]

Although voltage and currents may be different, the wattage "should" be the same! I wonder how much less efficient 110V equipment is with them drawing a higher current and losses being relative to the square of the current?

 

[Corey USA]

Although voltage and currents may be different, the wattage "should" be the same! I wonder how much less efficient 110V equipment is with them drawing a higher current and losses being relative to the square of the current?

thanks for correcting me got it mixed up its the Volts to amperage ratio

Since the amperage is different between the USA and UK you use a slightly different formula to arrive at the same wattage.

I just know if you try to plug a UK product in our outlet the amperage from our electricity would fry the appliance or electronics. and Using our TVs in or outlet would Blow the fuse every time because its trying to draw more amperage than the wiring can handle.

When Looking at the Accumulative effect the wastage is HUGE!.

 

[Corey USA]

Conversion demystified http://www.powerstream.com/Amps-Watts.htm

Reading this NO WONDER the LCD display all said 3 amp It was to get around the having to list wattage since people were concerned with how much energy they were using and may be using the wrong number to determine how much energy they were actually using. By listing just 3 amp ouch at 112 volts = 336 watts of electricity for a 20 in LCD!!!!! MY 37 in HDTV uses 280 watts at 112 volts.

I guess now the question becomes How much energy of amps per hour is used and How much coal needs to be burned to make an amp. Since the The set volts determines the watts Ultimately its the amperage that counts. Which explains the fuse box using amps on the fuse ratings!

I am going to assume that when you say current you mean amperage per minute?

 

[Mr Incredible]

Some equipment is designed for dual voltage for say international use (Dell laptop power supplies for instance). Some UK equpment can also work in the US (hairdryers).

However, even if one had a voltage transformer to allow a US 110V only to work in the UK (AV amplifier for instance), the other factor that can screw up the appliance is the fact that US mains is 60Hz and the UK and Europe is 50Hz. A 110V 60Hz unit operating on a 110V 50Hz transformer will run hotter than it would have on the 60Hz. Frequency is a killer!

 

[Corey USA]

Anyone know the conversion to determine actual amount of coal needed to be burned in order to generate certain amount of amp and which number it actually is that you need to pay attention to when determining how much energy a certain something uses? Since wattage label on the back is misleading. The same wattage monitor when comparing the USA model to the UK model the USA draws more energy per hour to operate even though they have the same wattage. I think....

 

[sinizterguy]

I dont think this does jack **** for electricity usage.

But its worth a test. I am going to get one of those watt-meter things and measure how much my Dell 2407 24" screen uses with standard google and blackle.

 

[Mr Incredible]

There are carbon calculators which show how much Co2 you produce per KwH of either electricity or gas. As electricity is generated from multi sources, I'm not sure a coal calc would work or be that useful and besides, like gas, coal will have different calorific values so different weights will produce the same "power".

 

[Mr Incredible]

I dont think this does jack **** for electricity usage.

But its worth a test. I am going to get one of those watt-meter things and measure how much my Dell 2407 24" screen uses with standard google and blackle.

Science in action!! How!

 

[sinizterguy]

Science in action!! How!

Get watt-meter
Plug in only monitor to it
Connect monitor to laptop
Display google for say 3mins - record high, low, etc
Display blackle - same measurements

If the electricity use is the same, then its BS. If its less maybe there is a point to it.

 

[Mr Incredible]

Sorry Sinizterguy, I was making an attempt at mimicking the UK kids science progam "How!"

 

[Corey USA]

I dont think this does jack **** for electricity usage.

But its worth a test. I am going to get one of those watt-meter things and measure how much my Dell 2407 24" screen uses with standard google and blackle.

Is it a CRT monitor? It is already known that CRT monitors use more electricity to generate bright white compared to the black areas due to the simple fact that the white areas are excited by electrical current while the black areas are not.

If you want to do it accurately, do a pure black screen and a pure white screen for the same amount of time. Don't base it on using blackle in that it is impossible to do an exact duplicate of a internet search. thus impossible to do a actual comparison in that the web pages lay out is different and can influence the actual readings.

Blackle is for CRT users.

The original designers was more concerned with the accumulative effect when you add millions of users. thats when you really take notice big time. It is small steps we all can take that are minimal changes that add up with the number of people changing., That was what they were after. A team effort.

The general watt a meter may not be sensitive enough to see the difference.

 

[sinizterguy]

Mines an LCD. I dont even know anyone who still has a CRT.

Might be a fair point for CRT users. But I just dont think it will make a significant difference even with CRT users.

 

[Corey USA]

It does for CRT users It has been demonstrated by the designers who do use CRT. CRT is still being used primarily by those who can't afford to upgrade to more efficient tech. I see them all over the place here.

If using an LCD look to see if it has an extra adjustable back light most tv versions have them. Turn them down or off to cut the electricity use by the light its self. The back light is there purely for bright rooms thus my suggestions below. these suggestions are not meant to be big. They are meant to be small, with as little disruption as possible, to make it attractive to people to start them down the correct path of reducing consumption.

 

[sinizterguy]

It does for CRT users It has been demonstrated by the designers who do use CRT. CRT is still being used primarily by those who can't afford to upgrade to more efficient tech. I see them all over the place here.

I am sure they are out there, especially in the developing countries.

If it does save energy then it should be publicised ...

And if general watt-meters cant see the difference, the difference must be sub 1 watt. In which case more energy should be spent getting people to switch off devices which they normally leave in standby.

 

[Corey USA]

There is no one solution the solution is in diversity. This is called conservation. saving where ever you can The one who Created blackle Was trying to contribute in the area they knew best. That person or persons was leaving the other areas for other specialists.

 

[Bilbob]

Just to point out, that it's not just 'those that can't afford to upgrade' that are still using CRT's... I work in IT, and am still yet to see an LCD monitor that can match the best of the CRT's we use in our design department.
Gamers too, will benefit from a good crt... better colours, better contrast, brighter image...

 

[Zone]

Ditto if you're serious about your digital photography as well, crt still rules imo.

 

[MikeTV]

Interesting. I've just set my desktop to black on my rear projection TV. Previously it was blue.