How to manage power settings on Windows 11 | Windows Central

You can adjust various power options to make the most out of every bit of energy, and here's how on Windows 11.

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Windows 11 comes with different settings to manage power features to optimize energy consumption on your desktop computer to keep the electric bill low and battery life on your laptop to ensure you can get the most out of a single charge.

For example, you can decide when the screen should turn off or when the computer should sleep to preserve power. You can use different power modes to optimize the device for performance or battery life. The battery-saver mode can help make the most of the remaining charge when running low on battery. Windows 11 also comes with a feature that lets you review battery usage to find the apps wasting the most power. You can enable hibernation to extend battery life, shut down the computer to preserve power without losing the current session, and more.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline how you can manage the system power options.

To change when the display should turn off automatically, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the display will automatically turn off after the duration of inactivity that you specified.

To change when the computer should enter sleep mode automatically, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the laptop or desktop computer will go into sleep mode after the time of inactivity you specified.

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To change the default power mode on Windows 11, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the new power mode will apply to the device.

Starting with the release of Windows 11 2024 Update, the system includes the Energy Saver feature, which is based on the "battery saver" and "power mode. " It reduces energy usage on both laptops and desktop computers without batteries.

To enable Energy Saver manually on Windows 11, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the battery saver mode will immediately be enabled.

To configure the battery saver feature to turn on automatically, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the battery saver mode will turn on automatically when the battery drops below the specified percentage.

To view the battery usage history on Windows 11, use these steps:

While in this view, you can see the battery usage in the last 24 hours or the last seven days. If you choose the seven days option, you can select each to review the stats. If you choose the 24 hours view, you can check the battery usage per hour.

In addition to checking the levels over time, you would see three pieces of additional information, including how long the screen was on and off and how long the device was in sleep mode.

As part of this feature, you can also review battery usage per application, which gives you a good idea of how apps are using energy.

If you find an app consuming a lot of battery, you can change its settings to prevent it from running in the background to preserve battery life.

To change apps background activities on Windows 11, use these steps:

Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Apps & features, select the app, click the menu (three-dotted) button, click on Advanced options, and then change the "Background apps permissions" setting.

On Windows 11, hibernation is a feature that can help preserve battery life when you are not using the device. The feature works by saving the data in memory onto the hard drive, allowing you to completely shut down and resume where you left off without wasting power.

When using hibernation, the resume process is slower than sleep, but it helps you conserve more battery.

To check and enable hibernation on Windows 11, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, hibernation will be enabled on Windows 11.

If you can't enable hibernation, the graphics card driver may not support the power state, which you could fix by updating to the latest video driver. Also, it could be that hibernation is supported, but it's disabled on the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

In the case that hybrid sleep is enabled, you will need to disable the feature before hibernation becomes available for the device. Also, it could be that the hardware doesn't support hibernation. In this case, you won't be able to use the feature.

To enable the "Hibernate" option in the Power menu, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the "Hibernate" option will appear in the Start menu power options.

As part of the power option, it's also possible to change the behavior of the power button to sleep, hibernate, or shut down when pressed.

To change the power button action on Windows 11, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the power button will perform the specified action.

If you're still on Windows 11 version 23H2, you may be able to configure this feature from Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power button does.

To change the power action when closing the laptop lid on Windows 11, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, when you close the laptop lid, the system will stay on, go to sleep, hibernate, or shut down, depending on your configuration.

If you're still on Windows 11 version 23H2, you may be able to configure this feature from Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what closing the lid does.

To show or hide the sleep option in the power menu, use these steps:

Once you complete the steps, the new configuration will apply to your computer.

In addition to the power features, Windows 11 can provide recommendations on the settings you may want to adjust to improve battery life or minimize energy waste.

To check and apply energy recommendations, use these steps:

After you complete the steps, the new configuration will be applied on your computer.

The available recommendations will be different depending on the capabilities of your computer.

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:

Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.