Patent ID: 8010815

Claim:
A method for a user to invoke energy savings in the operation of a computational device, comprising: providing a computational device configured to perform a processing task in a high-performance mode; a user invoking an energy savings mode for the computational device to perform the processing task through a computational device interface, wherein the energy savings mode is more energy efficient than the high-performance mode, the invoking the energy savings mode comprising: querying a policy table containing a plurality of possible computational device energy savings modes to identify at least one mode appropriate to the processing task, wherein querying the policy table comprises determining that none of the plurality of possible energy savings modes are available or appropriate to the processing task; selecting and displaying a subset of the identified at least one appropriate mode queried wherein each of the selected subset is available to the user and suitable to a configuration of the device, wherein the displaying the subset comprises displaying alternative energy saving processes each implementable by the user by incorporating a new component into the computational device; and the user selecting and implementing one of the available subset by the user incorporating the new component into the computational device and selecting a one of the alternative energy saving processes associated with the new component; the computational device performing the processing task in the invoked energy savings mode; determining an energy amount expended by the computational device in performing the processing task in the invoked energy savings mode; determining a net energy savings value as a difference between the energy amount expended and a standard energy expenditure amount predicted as required for the computational device to perform the processing task in the high-performance mode; displaying the net energy savings value to the user; and the user continuing the invoking of the energy savings mode or engaging another performance mode for the computational device to perform the processing task as a function of the displaying.