As part of its Sustainable Computing Program, Microsoft announced it will support four academic research projects focused on energy efficiency in computing in the areas of datacenter power efficiency, power management and the creation of parallel computing architecture with decreased power demands.

Through this program, Microsoft Research is stimulating research across a broad range of areas with the potential to improve energy efficiency. And considering that a single 100-watt incandescent light bulb left on around the clock for a year costs more than $80 to power and releases 1,350 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere — roughly the same amount of power that an idle PC uses in that same timeframe — finding ways to lessen humankind’s impact on the environment is critical.

“We want to open new avenues of research and raise the awareness of power as a critical resource that needs to be managed,” said Sailesh Chutani, senior director of Microsoft External Research. “Through this program, we are encouraging novel thinking about how to reduce that power consumption and how to make technology more environmentally friendly into the future.”

The Sustainable Computing Program explores two main areas of research that can have a major impact. The first is the principle of “pay for play,” which is the idea that the power consumed by a computing device should be proportional to the demand placed upon it, lowering the amount of energy consumed at low load and idle. Secondly, energy efficiency, even at peak loads, is equally important in reducing the overall consumption of electricity and should be managed as a first-class resource. The program encourages researchers to use novel approaches in hardware design, software, networking, benchmarking, analysis, virtualization and any other avenue that might provide improvements in the field.

Microsoft Research is committed to delivering innovations in research in the areas of energy efficiency and conservation, weather study and prediction, air pollution and quality, climate change, and hydrology. Other efforts range from sensor networks to assist scientists in understanding global ecological issues by tracking animals, to Web-enabled sensors that could be used in businesses and homes to monitor energy consumption. For example, research with the Berkeley Water Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and National Marine Fisheries Service will use these technologies to help form a “digital” picture of watershed health.

In February, Microsoft Research Cambridge announced new technology to help understand sensitive species’ responses to changing environments, in an effort to enhance conservation strategies. In March, at the company’s annual TechFest event, several new environmentally friendly projects were on display, including a new server-provisioning strategy to reduce the power consumed by large networks and a Web service designed to replace batteries used in smoke detectors and other household devices.

“We applaud the efforts of these academic researchers to develop new, innovative technologies to reduce energy usage and lessen the impact on the environment,” said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist at Microsoft. “Microsoft believes in the potential of software to help create a more sustainable environment, and the Sustainable Computing Program is just one example of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to help businesses and consumers drive change through energy efficiency.”