An energy-saving app has been built from datasets released for GovHack – a national programming competition.

GovHack 2014 invited groups of young programmers to sink their teeth into mounds of government data, hoping to create useful digital tools.

The annual competition was on over the weekend, challenging teams nationwide to hack their way to the future of public information.

The event, attended by 1300 programmers, designers, students and hackers, has a simple premise: have fun building something clever using government data in just 48 hours.

Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane has unveiled one of the fruits of their labours - a first-of-its-kind smartphone app to display power use over the life of an appliance in dollars, rather than kilowatt hours.

“This app shows people what the energy rating means financially, and by adding the estimated total power cost to the purchase price, people can see what they are saving,” Mr Macfarlane said.

The app uses the data from well-known Energy Rating Label; the star scheme that has helped Australians make energy-efficient choices for over 25 years.

The GovHack sponsors, which include major technology firms and government agencies, put up over $70,000 for the most creative hacks and apps

Previous GovHacks have produced hundreds of new uses for government data, including a clean and easy archival photo search, and a mobile app for finding the nearest public toilet.

Experts at Lateral Economics say a $16 billion a year boost is available for the Australian economy, if government agencies make the most of public data.

Some winners of GovHack 2014 have been announced, with a full list coming next month.