Managing Battery Power

When you are on a travel or currently in a location where a power outlet is not available, you need to do something in order to save on battery power. Windows 8.1 is equipped with some power options that will help you save on battery juice whenever it’s needed.

Battery Saving in Windows

The Windows operating system has always had some power-saving features and settings but not all people use them. Some of these are in the form of power-off options which are readily accessible as options whenever you would like to turn-off your machine. There are also some manual tweaks that you can do to other aspects of your computer such as screen power-off time, screen brightness and other advanced stuff which will significantly prolong battery life. To learn more about this very useful tweak, simply follow the steps that I’ll be showing in this tutorial.

Accessing Some Power off Options

Since Windows XP on to Vista and down to Windows 7, the Windows operating system has always offered some power-off options that help in saving battery power and having the stuff that you are working on still accessible even after you turn it on again. Getting to these power options has never changed. It has been the same since Windows XP and even now in the new Windows 8.1. To learn how these options are accessed, simply follow the steps below.

In Windows 8.1, all that you need to learn is the location of the power button. Once you find it then you will be able to access the power off options. To access the power button in Windows 8.1, simply press the Windows + I keys to access the Settings screen and at the bottom of it, you will see a power icon. Simply click or tap on it to open the power off options in a small Window.

Accessing Power Options

Here are two ways to access the power options section on every Windows 8.1 system. There are actually more but I’ll just be showing two here which will help you get used to navigating within your brand new machine!

Click the Battery Icon on the System Tray

The system tray is found at the bottom-right corner of the screen. It composes the extreme-right end of the taskbar. Take a look at this area of your computer screen and you will see the battery icon. Just click on it and you will be able to access a small Window which shows the exact level of battery power left (if you’re on batteries) or the overall status of the charging process if in case your machine is charging. At the bottom of this small Window, you will find two links which says “Adjust screen brightness” and “More power options”. From here, simply click on the “More power options” link.

Access Power Options from the Control Panel

Another method of accessing the Power options is through  Control Panel section of your Windows machine. To do it, simply access the Control Panel Window by pressing on the Windows + X keys and on the small menu that appears on the bottom-left corner of the screen, simply click on the link that says “Control Panel”.

Now, on the main Control Panel Window, simply hit the menu that says “Hardware and Sound” and on the next Window, hit the “Power Options” submenu.

Tweaks under Power Options

There are a number available tweaks under the Power Options submenu which you can change according to your purpose. We will go over each one of them and learn how you can save power by doing some tweaks on each one of them. Just go over each item below to learn what these things are.

Change battery settings

When you click on this link under power options, you will be taken to a Window that looks like the screenshot below. From here, you can change the current power plan that is set for your machine. If you are running on batteries, you can simply select the “Power saver” mode while if you need more performance, you need to select “High performance”.

You can also customize each power plan by clicking on the link that says “Change plan settings” located to the right of the power plan name. After you do so, you will be taken to a Window that looks like the screenshot below. From here, you can adjust the length of time before your computer sleeps when you are in either one of the two scenarios which are “On battery” and “Plugged in” and as well as options when your computer will be put to sleep. There is also an adjustment knob available for tweaking the screen brightness when you’re on batteries and when you are plugged in.

Once you are done doing some tweaks here, simply hit the “Save changes” button at the bottom of the screen.

Changing the Function of the Power Button

Next, you need to go back to the “Power Options” Window and click on the link that says “Change what the power buttons do” located on the navigation pane at the left. After you do so, you will be taken to a Window where you can choose what pressing the power button do in the same two scenarios (On battery and plugged in). You might have also noticed that when your machine was new, the “Hibernate” power off option does not appear when you press the Power icon from the Settings screen. To make it available, simply hit the link at the top of this Window that says “Change settings that are currently not available” and at the bottom part under the “Shutdown settings” section; simply mark the check box for the “Hibernate” option

The other options that are also available here are “Choosing what happens when you close the lid” and “Password protection on wake up”. These two sound very obvious so there’s no need for me to elaborate both.

Create Your Own Power Plan

Another thing that you can do from the Power options section is creating your own power plan. To do this, simply go back to the main Window of the Power options and click on the “Create a power plan” link at the left navigation pane.

After hitting the link, you will be taken to a Window where you can enter the name of your custom power plan and a button at the bottom that will take you to the next step. Just follow the steps that come next and save all changes and settings you made to make your power plan be listed among the rest.

Get Longer Battery Life

Doing the steps I have shown above will not only lessen battery power consumption but will also prolong battery life. As a long time laptop user, I would recommend that you get a UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply and plug your laptop computer to it while the battery is removed when you are planning to use your machine for a long time. This helps preserve the battery’s power storage capability for a longer time compared to just keeping your machine plugged in while the battery is connected to it even when it is already fully charged. You surely don’t want a laptop that has weak batteries right so you must take good care of it while it is still on its good condition.