Impact of Remote User Interface Design and Delivery on Energy Demand

Client-side User Interface (UI) for web applications clearly plays a critical role in user performance and efficiency. Growing user expectations drive UI design to greater functionality with ever increasing expectations for rich and continuous interactivity. Such increases require greater and greater computational resources. At the same time, web applications are increasingly accessed through mobile, battery-powered devices, such as notebooks, tablets, smartphones, and even watches. In effect, users are simultaneously increasing dependence on battery power and the pace of battery discharge with demanding applications. While UI design often considers factors such as usability, bandwidth consumption, etc., little consideration is given to the impact rendering and delivery design have on energy consumption. While we may expect novel technologies to expand battery capacity, the demands consistently outpace improvements. Careful consideration of UI design strategy may reduce the energy demands placed to the user´s device. This paper presents a study considering existing UI design and delivery strategies and evaluates their impact on energy consumption.