Energy Efficiency vs. Hardware Lighting
Why use software to light your keyboard instead of a physical illuminated keyboard or a USB lamp? The answer is energy efficiency and convenience.
Hardware Consumption (Illuminated Keyboard / USB Lamp):
A standard USB port supplies 5 V. Depending on the number and intensity of the LEDs, a physical light consumes constant extra power:
- Minimum (small USB lamp): 5 V * 0,1 A = 0,5 W
- Maximum (RGB keyboard / bright lamp): 5 V * 0,5 A = 2,5 W
LightBar Software Consumption:
Our application leverages the screen you are already using.
- LCD Monitors (IPS, TN, VA): The backlight is already on. Displaying a white or colored bar merely twists the liquid crystals to let existing light through. Extra power required: 0 W.
- OLED Monitors: Each pixel generates its own light. While a full white bar uses about 2,0 W, we introduced pure color profiles to bypass subpixel activation and save battery:
- Pure Green: ~0,5 W (75% savings)
- Pure Red: ~0,3 W (85% savings)
- Yellow: ~0,8 W (60% savings)