Power Consumption While Using Ad-Blockers on ARM-Based CPU

Khan, Khan Awais and Iqbal, Tariq and Jamil, Mohsin (2024) Power Consumption While Using Ad-Blockers on ARM-Based CPU. In: 33rd Annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC), November 14, 2024, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Abstract

This study investigates the impact of ad blockers on power consumption in ARM-based processors, which are widely used in energy-efficient systems. A comparative analysis was conducted across popular browsers such as Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi, Kiwi, and Firefox, alongside ad blockers including AdGuard, Adblock Plus, Ghostery, uBlock, and uBlock Origin. Tests on websites like YouTube, Dailymotion, ARYZAP, and KissCartoon revealed significant differences in power consumption based on browser and ad-blocker configurations. Kiwi paired with uBlock reduced power consumption by approximately 15% compared to Chrome, which consistently exhibited the highest energy usage. Brave, with its built-in ad blocker, reduced power consumption by 12% on average compared to Firefox with Ghostery, which showed the highest consumption. Additionally, Firefox with Adblock Plus demonstrated an 8-10% reduction in energy use compared to configurations without ad-blocking extensions. On media-rich platforms like YouTube, Brave and Kiwi performed more efficiently, consuming 10-13% less power than Chrome and Firefox with Ghostery, which increased energy use by up to 20%. These findings emphasize the importance of selecting the right browser and ad blocker combination to optimize power efficiency on ARM-based systems, especially in ad-heavy environments.

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