Conserving Battery Life

Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:00PM EDT

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If you're traveling and using your battery extensively, make sure your power saving options on your laptop are set appropriately. The basic idea is for the computer to shut itself down, incrementally, if it detects that you've stopped using it.

When running on AC current, these settings don't matter much, but when you're sitting on a five hour flight, trying desperately to maximize battery time, saving power is critical. Under Windows, you can manage these settings using the Power Schemes page of the Control Panel's Power Options applet. You can turn off the monitor or hard drive, and put your laptop into various states of conservation according to your specification.

Choosing the best mode: Most laptops have two shutdown modes to conserve batteries while still enabling fast resumption of normal operation: The first is standby mode which powers down your hard drive. Standby mode is meant to be used when you're leaving your computer, but only for a short period of time. When you power up again the laptop quickly resumes from where you left off. Because standby does not save your desktop state to disk, a power failure while on standby can cause you to lose unsaved information. Standby mode is great for when your airline meal arrives and you want a 15 minute of break; it's not good to leave it on for hours at a time.

Hibernation mode, on the other hand, is when the computer saves its state on the hard disk and then shuts down. A computer can't resume operation after hibernation as fast as it can after standby, but it's not consuming any power during hibernation. If you're not going to use the computer for a while choose hibernate.

Windows tip: You can choose power options using the Control Panel's Power Options applet. But to choose an option on-the-fly, simply choose 'Turn off the computer' on the start menu. You normally get 3 options: Standby, Turn Off, and Restart. To get the hibernate option simply hold down the Shift key. (If hibernate doesn't appear, you may have to enable hibernation using the Power Options applet's Hibernation page.)

Also, many laptops ship with customized power applets from the manufacturer, which sometimes give you more control.

Proper Disposal: Before discarding that ancient laptop, remove its battery and dispose it properly. Do not put the battery into regular trash collections as it contains hazardous materials. For a drop-off site near you, the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) has a search page:

Lots of major retailers like Staples, Home Depot, and Radio Shack participate, so it's not hard to do the right thing for the environment.

Smart Links for more battery advice:

TechRepublic

Batteries in a Portable World

 

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Comments on Conserving Battery Life

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  • 6 Posted by pvpreacher on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    It is too bad that people don't take the time to know even this much about saving a computer's battery life. I say, if you have a computer, take the time to know how to use it.

  • 7 Posted by kerrikell on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    This article was helpful to me even thought I new some of those things before. I think those two guys who thought it was a waste of time should just bug off because I am sure 80% who read this article fould it helpful.

  • 8 Posted by jeffreyd_tx on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    That was pretty useless. A better idea would be to diasable your wireless LAN and bluetooth devices or any other peripherals that are not needed. Many laptops have an option to add an extra battery which in many cases doubles battery life. You can also reduce screen brightness. That is the type of information that should have been in this article.

  • 9 Posted by ttsturgill on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am new to a laptop. I really don't know much about them. I have a few questions, I hope that someone can help me with them. I would like to know how to turn the brightness down on a HP Pavilion Laptop (during the day, not bright enough and at night, it is too bright). I would like to learn about laptops and I am a quick learner. I know somethings but not all. You can e-mail me. Please someone help me..

  • 10 Posted by sleepisalie on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I really can't believe someone got paid to write this. These are the same tips that show up on the shut down screen... and the fact is that some of these tips are wrong.

  • 11 Posted by s_daniel999 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Another tip to remember is to turn down the brightness on your screen when using battery power. This one reduction will dramatically increase your battery life.

  • 12 Posted by rrozr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a good initial document. It just has an unfortunate title. It title should have said it was a primer vs advanced. Some computer users DO just plug it in and go and may never have even thought of this topic. The author should take the opportunity to have multiple articles on this topic to target users of varying levels. I commend the individuals who have added to the discussion.

  • 13 Posted by dr_rd298 on Thu Aug 3, 2006 2:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't think this article is useful to anybody becoz the things he told are basics.I read this article to know something new, but it wasted my time. I think i can write a better article than this one becoz few things are left as far as i know....

  • 14 Posted by legolas_249 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I doubt that you could write a better article because you can't even spell. But I do admit the "knowledge" shared in this article is for people that do not know how to turn off a computer at all. The comments shared by some of the other people are what you really need to do to improve battery life. Whoever wrote this article must not know much about computers. Plus anyone who is going to take a Laptop on a plane or something for business surely knows how to use it. If they don't know that is pretty pathetic.

  • 15 Posted by angelpuff87 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    First, I concur with the other comments. This article was not useful at all. Secondly, remember to recycle your old laptop batteries! I learned in Organic Chemistry that if you dispose your battery in regular trash, the lithium batteries might crack and leak. If water is introduced, a reaction occurs and it will cause a fire.

  • 16 Posted by cjanay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    I thought the article described the difference between hybernation and standby quite well. I'm no computer genius - but I'm not a complete computer dummy either. I kind of knew what the terms meant prior to reading this - but not in an actual literal sense - just broadly - didn't really know there was a big difference between the two - I guess I'm one of the dummies everyone talked about! I did like the comments from the "more advanced users" and will definitely try to find my way around and change the options around a bit. Love that you can actually adjust your settings for certain times of day and usage - really cool!

  • 17 Posted by hobby713fun on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm with stanza_chad and cody_d_goehring, I really thought the article would contain some usefull information that the general public did not know, or that could not easily be found by reading the manual that came with your laptop.

  • 18 Posted by dunc34 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    dimming your screen is a fntastic battery saver, allong with processor slowdown. however on a recent flight I was given a dvd to puruse and couldn't watch the entire program least of all write a comment on it!

  • 20 Posted by ronaldpacheco on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    If these are "Power Tips", you should not be seen outside with a laptop!

  • 21 Posted by sskumaars on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is very useful. Whoever have the laptos must know these tips. Thanks

  • 22 Posted by rayyang_2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree to cody and stanza, readers should get "useful" ideas posted not merely posting to have something for an article. I felt very disappointed coz its really very basic to know these functions.

  • 23 Posted by joan2axs on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    just because you know these stuff does not mean everyone else knows, and for those who didnt already know, go easy on them alright? sometimes we just go through life without paying much attention to the details.

  • 24 Posted by demondeacon81 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Okay, I admit it, I've never heard of Robin Raskin, nor have I read any of her previous tips, but judging this one, I'm left with the nagging suspicion that she wrote it 5 minutes before her deadline..with 3 minutes left on her laptop battery.... I'm determined to not judge her knowledge based on this single article, but I'm not going to be overly anxious to open the next one either.

  • 25 Posted by tazman_95827 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    I found it useful not only for laptops but for desktop use as well. I use it on both. Sure it's general knowledge, but my 4th grader knows how to do it on both machines. So stop your complaining about it. It may not be useful to you but to someone else it might be useful.

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