When you’re at work or watching a movie, your computer’s battery can drain quickly, which can have an effect if you don’t have a charging device with you. But if you’re using Windows 11, Microsoft’s new operating system has a variety of settings you can configure to help save battery life. Here are some tips and tricks to help extend battery life on your Windows 11 computer.
Prevent apps from refreshing in the background
Some applications on your computer run in the background and continue to work even when you are not actively using them. For example, they can send you notifications when you receive text messages, emails or comments on social media. However, you don’t always need to refresh the app, especially when the battery is low:
1. Open the Settings app and go into System.
2. Click Power & battery.
3. Under Battery click Turn on now (you must be unplugged from a power source).
Once enabled, certain notifications and background activity will be paused to help extend your battery life.
If the battery level falls below a certain percentage, the battery saver feature will automatically turn on.
There are also a few things you can try to improve the functionality of Battery Saver: such as changing the percentage of battery charge when Battery Saver is enabled, and reducing screen brightness when Battery Saver is in use.
Use a dark background or theme
If your Windows 11 computer has an OLED display, you can take advantage of dark backgrounds or themes to help extend battery life. Unlike older LCD/LED displays, each pixel is individually illuminated on an OLED display, which means that if the background is black, those pixels won’t light up and drain battery power.
1. Open the Settings app and click Personalization.
2. At the top of the page, select a black theme.
There are several dark themes to choose from. Each of them will darken your background, as well as all the windows and certain applications you can use in Windows 11.
The dark theme helps save battery power on OLED displays.
If you already have a personalized dark background, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your mode and select Dark from the options that appear.
Decrease lock screen timeout
The longer the screen is on, the more power it uses, which is why you might want the screen to turn off quickly when you’re away from your computer, whether it’s a few minutes or an hour.
1. Open Settings and go to System.
2. Next, click Power & battery.
Below Power, you’ll find several settings for turning off the display after a certain amount of inactivity. You can change the minutes from the default to a lower value, such as 1 or 2 minutes. However, you should only change the battery power setting when you need it most, as this is when you need to conserve battery power the most.
You can set the screen to automatically turn off after 1 minute of inactivity.
Lower your monitor’s refresh rate
The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen refreshes per second: the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the movement on the screen appears. For example, if you’re playing a video game, you need the highest possible refresh rate. Unfortunately for your battery, a higher refresh rate also means more power. If you don’t need a high refresh rate, you can lower the refresh rate to help save battery power:
1. Open the Settings app and click System.
2. Next, go into Display and then Advanced display.
3. Finally, change the number displayed next to Choose a refresh rate.
Depending on your laptop or desktop, you may see different refresh rate numbers as the default. If you only have one refresh rate option, unfortunately, you won’t be able to lower it.
Choosing a lower refresh rate can help save battery power.
The above 4 methods can help you maximize your battery life, which is very important when you don’t have a charging device by your side!
