Research project limits computer power consumption

"ECS will work well on cloud systems as they mature, but will give a more immediate means for organisations to reduce their data centre's energy consumption," he said.

ECS uses a processor's dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) capability to map computational tasks to minimise completion time and energy use.

"Computations are typically comprised of interdependent tasks, so the need to wait for a parent task to complete can create slack and therefore wastage," Zomaya said.

"When ECS is employed with the help of DVS capability, mapping decisions between processors, supply voltages, and tasks are streamlined to significantly lower the amount of energy required at any given time."

The researchers claim ECS can more than halve the energy consumption of processors in data centres at "little or no operational cost".