Carrying out activities on a laptop that is on the go, whether it’s for travel, work, or school work, is limited by its battery life. Its autonomy, that is, the time it can work without being connected to the current, is essential for mobility and thus being able to obtain the best experience from it.
As a general fact, you should know that a full battery charge in an average-use laptop can last between 5 to 6 hours. But this optimal amount depends on several factors, such as the size of the screen, the use that is given to the laptop or the performance of the different components of the equipment.
In addition, the battery usually suffers from normal wear and tear that decreases its ability to retain energy and becomes more noticeable after the first year or two of use. That is why in the following lines we give you some advice and recommendations to prolong the autonomy of your laptop.
Reduce screen brightness
The first action you can take to avoid running out of battery to finish your work day is to reduce the brightness of the screen.
Its backlight function consumes too much energy, so if you are not in open environments, use a minimum brightness level, as long as it allows you to see comfortably. Fortunately, most laptops have dedicated keys to reduce brightness without having to access system settings.
Close apps you don’t use
Close any open application that you are not using because no matter how light it is, it consumes processor resources and therefore causes energy consumption. This includes browser tabs and inactive messaging services.
Disable unnecessary USB devices
In most cases, USB devices connected to your laptop are powered through the USB port and drain battery power. This includes USB sticks, Wi-Fi dongles, Bluetooth dongles, cell phones, and media players that sync files with your PC.
Turn off Wi-Fi adapter
The constant search for Wi-Fi signals by the wireless adapter is an unnecessary waste of energy in situations where it is not necessary to connect to the Internet. Therefore, if this is your case, disable the Wi-Fi connection, either by using the buttons integrated into the computer from the icon that is present at the end of the taskbar.
Add more RAM
Adding RAM means a qualitative leap in the experience of using a computer. At the same time, it prevents the system from exchanging information with the virtual memory that works from the hard drive. Therefore it represents a lower workload for this component and a lower battery consumption.
To learn how to add RAM memory to your laptop, see the following article: How to install more RAM memory in your laptop.
Adjust your laptop’s power options
Most laptops have power management options that you can adjust to suit your needs.
On a Windows 11 laptop, go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options. Then choose between the Balanced plan (recommended) or the High Performance plan. If you wish, you can customize each plan by clicking Change plan settings.