Laptops offer an unparalleled level of convenience and versatility when compared to desktop computers. Whether you’re sitting in your office, riding on a bus or even vacationing by the pool, you can use a laptop to perform computer work. If you don’t have access to an electrical outlet, though, you’ll have to rely on your laptop’s internal battery. Once its charge has been depleted, you’ll be forced to stop using your laptop. While no laptop battery lasts forever on a single charge, you can make yours last a little longer by following a few steps.
Choose a Dark-Colored Background
You might be surprised to learn that the background color of your laptop can affect its battery life. Bright backgrounds generally consume more battery power than dark backgrounds. Although it’s not particularly attractive, an all-black background can make a noticeable difference in your laptop’s battery life. With an all-black background, your laptop won’t have to consume as much battery power to illuminate the display.
Check to See Which Programs Are Consuming the Most Power
If your laptop runs Windows 10, you can use the operating system’s built-in the battery usage tool to see which programs are consuming the most power. Go to “Settings” and choose “System,” followed by “Battery” and then “Battery usage by app.” From here, you can see which programs are consuming the most power. If you discover that most of your laptop’s battery is being used to power Chrome, for example, try switching to a different web browser like Firefox.
Lower the Display Brightness
Another way to improve the battery life of your laptop is to lower the display brightness. Most laptops have physical keys that allow you to adjust the brightness. Alternatively, you can lower your laptop’s brightness using Windows 10. Just go to “Settings” and choose “System,” followed by “Display.” You will then see a slider that allows you to raise or lower the display brightness.
Turn Off Your Laptop
When you aren’t using your laptop, turn it off. Some people simply use the “hibernate” feature on their laptop. While hibernate consumes less power than leaving your laptop on — or even using the “sleep” feature — it still uses power. Turning your laptop completely off, on the other hand, means it won’t consume any power until you turn it back on.
Disable Keyboard LEDs
Assuming you have an LED-backlit keyboard, turning off the LEDs will improve your laptop’s battery life. LEDs will illuminate your laptop’s keyboard, allowing you to see the keys more clearly. As the same time, however, they’ll consume some of your laptop’s battery.