GREEN software that detects whether or not you are looking at your computer and switches off the display accordingly could help cut energy bills and significantly reduce people’s carbon footprint.

Developed by inventor Peter Hopton of Sheffield, UK, and launched by his company VeryPC last week, the system uses open-source face-detection software linked to a webcam to monitor the presence of someone’s face in front of the screen and react to it.

While PC users can set their screens to sleep after a set period, many users override this because it interferes with the way they use their computer. “If …