Better ways of measuring the energy consumption from microprocessors could have both environmental and economic benefits, a study by the Australian National University has found.

ANU researchers collaborated with their counterparts from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Washington on the study. The findings could have a significant impact on the development of new software and hardware by companies such as Google, Intel, Apple and Microsoft.

As companies struggle to deal with rising costs in energy, this study paves the way for manufacturers of microprocessors to make a more energy efficient product. The general public would also benefit from an improvement in these microprocessors. The battery on a mobile phone, or a GPS for example, would last longer as less energy would be consumed by the software.