When you are travelling, laptop or a tablet is one essential device which allows you to get connected to Internet or use it for your work. But one of the major hindrances in using laptop or tablets for work is the battery consumption especially when travelling. Many times, you might just run out of battery power in the middle of an important meeting or a long flight. Although most of the OS are optimized for battery usage, because of a variety of reasons the battery might just go out in a couple of hours. Similar to the previous version of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 is also optimized for battery usage.
But there are many things a user can do to save battery consumption on your Windows 8.1 tablets or desktops.
1. Power Plan- Choose the best one:
Windows 8 has by default two power plans, balanced and power saver. Sometimes OEM might have additional power plans based on the device you own. When you are travelling you can switch over to power saver. Apart from just switching to power saver mode, you can even customize the power save mode to get more juice out of your battery. You can even create a custom power plan based on your needs that save the power.
2. Reduce Display Brightness:
Display is one the major battery consuming part on your PC. You can reduce it based on your requirements. To change the settings, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, then tap Settings. If you’re using a mouse, point to the top-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, then click Settings. Tap or click Brightness to make the change you want. Some PCs also have a dedicated button to change the display brightness.
3. Change the time for sleep and dimming the display
When you’re not using your laptop or tablet, even for brief periods of time, you can save power by having Windows dim and then turn off the display after a period of inactivity. This in turn can save lot of battery power. You can customize the power plan (mentioned in step 1) and reduce the time before the computer goes to sleep and also the time for dimming the display.
4. Turn off or remove devices not in use:
You might have connected multiple USB devices like mobiles, pen drives etc. Many USB devices use power just by being connected, so you might want to unplug these devices when you’re not using them. If you use a USB mouse, you can save power by replacing it with a touchpad or tablet pen.
5. Turn off PC cards and integrated wireless devices.
If you are not using wireless devices and PC cards, then you can probably think of turning them off. These devices also use power, so turn them off if you don’t need them.
6. Disable Bluetooth:
If you are not using Bluetooth, you can turn this off and get some additional battery life. To turn off Bluetooth, press Windows Key + C and select Settings from the Charms menu, and select Change PC settings. Navigate to PC and devices > Bluetooth and toggle Bluetooth off.
But there are many things a user can do to save battery consumption on your Windows 8.1 tablets or desktops.
Tips to save battery on your Windows 8
1. Power Plan- Choose the best one:
Windows 8 has by default two power plans, balanced and power saver. Sometimes OEM might have additional power plans based on the device you own. When you are travelling you can switch over to power saver. Apart from just switching to power saver mode, you can even customize the power save mode to get more juice out of your battery. You can even create a custom power plan based on your needs that save the power.
2. Reduce Display Brightness:
Display is one the major battery consuming part on your PC. You can reduce it based on your requirements. To change the settings, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, then tap Settings. If you’re using a mouse, point to the top-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, then click Settings. Tap or click Brightness to make the change you want. Some PCs also have a dedicated button to change the display brightness.
3. Change the time for sleep and dimming the display
When you’re not using your laptop or tablet, even for brief periods of time, you can save power by having Windows dim and then turn off the display after a period of inactivity. This in turn can save lot of battery power. You can customize the power plan (mentioned in step 1) and reduce the time before the computer goes to sleep and also the time for dimming the display.
4. Turn off or remove devices not in use:
You might have connected multiple USB devices like mobiles, pen drives etc. Many USB devices use power just by being connected, so you might want to unplug these devices when you’re not using them. If you use a USB mouse, you can save power by replacing it with a touchpad or tablet pen.
5. Turn off PC cards and integrated wireless devices.
If you are not using wireless devices and PC cards, then you can probably think of turning them off. These devices also use power, so turn them off if you don’t need them.
6. Disable Bluetooth:
If you are not using Bluetooth, you can turn this off and get some additional battery life. To turn off Bluetooth, press Windows Key + C and select Settings from the Charms menu, and select Change PC settings. Navigate to PC and devices > Bluetooth and toggle Bluetooth off.
These are some of the simple tips you can try to get better battery life on your Windows 8.1 laptop.