Measuring Energy Efficiency Of Architectural Complexity in Modern PHP Frameworks

Energy consumption is a critical pillar of sustainable computing, yet the impact of softwarearchitectural complexity in web context remains under-researched. This study examines therelationship between software structure and power draw across six popular PHP frameworks. TheAccidental Complexity Score (ACS), a metric quantifying a framework’s structural overhead inclasses, interfaces, traits, and functions, is used to correlate architectural complexity with energyconsumption measured via Intel RAPL telemetry on power-optimized hardware. The results reveal a direct correlation: frameworks with higher ACS consistently demand morepower, regardless of workload intensity. This empirical evidence demonstrates that architecturalminimalism is a prerequisite for energy efficiency and sustainable computing. The study concludeswith a corollary to Wirth’s Law, suggesting that software design choices can negate hardware-levelsustainability gains.