The “dark mode”, now available on most operating systems, aims to save energy by making most funds very dark or black while satisfying those who just prefer this aspect.
The BBC a study that compares the “light and dark modes” of one of the pages of its site in an older laptop.
Before a “dark mode” version, the most people have considerably increased brightness, sometimes consuming more energy than in clear mode.
It is not surprising that “dark modes” do nothing to reduce LCD’s power consumption. However, the study – not reviewed by peers, but published as part of the International Low Carbon Computing Workshop – suggests that statements about the efficiency of “dark way” can be exaggerated in real -world scenarioscom hardware not of cutting -edge and humans in controls.
According to the Department of Research and Development of the British Broadcasting Corporation It began to think of the usefulness of a “dark way” to reduce energy consumption in general.
Thus, the team “sat the participants in front of the BBC Sounds homepage and asked them that increase the brightness of the device until they feel comfortable“, Using the“ clear and dark mode ”versions of the site BBC Sounds.
Before the version of site in “dark mode”, 80% of participants increased brightness “Significantly more” than in “clear way,” writes the BBC.
In the study, Beeb has a broader hypothesis. “Our conclusions suggest that the Advantages of dark mode in terms of energy efficiency are not as simple as you think For the energy of the screens and that the interaction between the color scheme of the contents and the behavior of users should be carefully considered in the guidelines and interventions in sustainability.
The study used a physical energy monitor and two portable computers, one for testing – a 2017 MacBook Pro with a 13.3 -inch LCD screen – and another for monitoring. The LCD laptop seems to be a Choose curiousgiven that the “dark mode” savings are largely linked to OLED Pixel technology.
BBC investigation suggests that “given that most devices still use LCD screen, where power consumption may not be reduced by presenting darker colors”, General statements about energy savings may not be properly sized.
The BBC study points to an article in the blog from the consulting firm Valtech on a study by Purdue as proof of these general statements.
Purdur’s estimates the “dark mode” savings when using ALED OLED screens enabled, between 3% and 9%, and 100% brightness savings up to 47%.
The investigation company suggested, in mid -2024, that the OLED owned 53% of the screening market smartphones.
In 2023, the same company foresaw that the OLEDs would represent 14% of the market combined tablets and portable until 2028.
Thus, while the smaller screens are ready to save energy with black pixels, our larger LCD screens and more energy consumers They are not generally saving a lot with “dark way” and can be exactly the opposite.
The BBC experience put 10 people 50 centimeters from the BBC Sounds homepage and asked them to alter their shine until they were comfortable looking at her. Each participant made this adjustment in four variations: “dark mode” and “clear mode”, and in a little lighted room and in a well -lit room.
When measuring the 16 levels of brightnessBBC found little difference in energy consumption between “dark and light modes”-but once again it is an LCD screen. The lighting of the room also had very little impact on the level of brightness and energy consumption.
However, the use of the average level of brightness defined by participants increased 9,6-10.7 no clear way to 12.5-12.7 in “dark mode”with standard deviations of about 2.1 to dark mode and 3.2 for clear mode. The highest and lower luminosity definitions chosen by participants have also increased in the dark ways.
The BBC study involved only 10 participants and, as the station itself refers, Appellate that the same study is done with OLED screenswhich have higher contrast ratios and may be easier to read in “dark mode” with less shine. There are also accessibility and design of pages that were not included in this exercise.
But the siteIn a MacBook, attached to a power monitor can at least suggest that organic eyes and real computers complicate conversations about energy savings in “dark mode”.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
