Green, or energy efficient, hard drives have been a trend in the industry for the past several years. Models from manufacturers including Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, Hitachi, Maxtor and more boast cooler operating temperatures and quiet operation.

For the environmentally-conscious, however, the key selling point to green hard drives should be that they are more energy efficient, which would lead to cost savings on your electric bills and a reduction in your overall carbon footprint.

But are green hard drives really a benefit to the environment — or to your wallet?

The people at the tech blog “Tested” http://www.tested.com/news/how-much-money-do-green-hard-drives-really-sa… say no, reiterating the findings of a study by Ars Technica. 

Here are the facts by the numbers: 

– If your drive spends four hours reading and writing and 20 hours idle per day, switching from a “black” drive to a “green” drive will save only 45 kilowatt hours per year.

– The average cost of a kilowatt-hour is 11.93 cents (at the time of the study)

– A green hard drive, at best, would saving you $5.38 per year

– Switching from a 60-watt lightbulb to the equivalent 7-watt compact flourescent (CFL) saves almost double that: $9.23 per year, with no difference in operation, which you might find with a green hard drive v. a black hard drive.

If you are running a RAID server with multiple drives, however, the cost savings can add up per year. Green drives, too, Ars Technica is quick to state, definitely have their place in certain applications and in many homes.

Solid State Drives: A Green Solution

If you’re looking for even better energy efficiency, with faster operating speeds and even quieter operation, consider a solid state drive. Solid state drives are also considered to be more stable than conventional HDDs or green HDDs.

Whether you are running a conventional HDD, a green drive, a RAID array, or a solid state drive, 24 Hour Data is available for fast data recovery, with a free diagnostic within 24 hours and our no data, no charge guarantee.