Component-level Energy Monitoring for Greener IT Operations
The iX programme is supporting Digital Tactics to find innovators who can develop a compact, non-invasive solution for monitoring energy use at a component level inside workstations. The solution will support the GreenCode programme’s goal of reducing software-related energy consumption and may be scaled to servers and data centres.
Opportunity
Challenge opens
24/06/2025
Challenge closes
05/08/2025
Benefit
Digital Tactics is looking to use open innovation to improve the understanding of energy consumption within IT systems, specifically within workstations and servers. Selected solution(s) will be trialled in pilot studies as part of GreenCode, a multinational RD&I project to reduce the carbon impact of the IT sector at scale, with the possibility of further adoption upon successful trials co-developed with the Challenge Holder.
Background
As the number of servers and workstations continues to rise alongside the growing adoption of AI technologies, the need for energy-efficient software becomes increasingly critical. To support this, GreenCode aims to measure software processes within server hardware to better understand their impact on energy consumption.
Digital Tactics is a cross-sector digital innovation consultancy and software development business. In 2023, we launched GreenCode, a €13 million RD&I initiative focused on decarbonising the IT sector at scale through generative AI-driven software optimisation. The project is supported by Innovate UK in the UK and by ITEA, the Eureka cluster for software innovation, in Europe.
More information can be found at greencode.ai and ITEA GreenCode.
As part of the GreenCode initiative, we need to accurately measure how software processes impact energy consumption at ainternal hardware level, particularly within workstations and servers. It is not enough to monitor the bulk power draw at the socket outside of the machine, we need more detailed measurements of current supply/usage to individual components within the machine when stressed by software processes under benchmarking conditions.
Most modern power supplies follow standard pin-out configurations, such as the ATX format, for delivering power to internal components. However, only a small number of power supplies provide any monitoring capabilities for individual power rails (e.g. 3.3V, 5V, 12V outputs). Of those that do, the available data is typically locked within proprietary software or limited to vendor-specific tools designed for purposes like LED lighting or overclocking.
For example, Corsair’s HX850i PSU provides internal monitoring via USB using its iCUE software, but the voltage and current readings are not easily accessible for external logging or integration: Corsair HX850i.
At present, GreenCode is not aware of any vendor-agnostic solution that allows detailed, component-level energy measurement in a server or workstation environment without requiring intrusive modification or specialist hardware.
GreenCode is seeking a reliable, accurate, and open solution to address this challenge, one that can support scalable, repeatable benchmarking across diverse hardware environments.
This challenge is brought to you by:
