The last few years have seen an increasing
awareness in the “green” aspects of technology. Computers today are
created to be more energy efficient than ever. We want the batteries in
our laptops, netbooks, and smartphones to last as long as possible. The
more power we conserve, the longer our power lasts—and that’s a good
thing both for our checkbooks and our planet.
One thing we’ve
learned in green tech is that small changes can really make a big
difference. Changing the brightness of your screen, or turning off Wi-Fi
or roaming when you can, may save a lot of processing going on
behind-the-scenes. Those simple techniques, added to steps like thinking
through what happens when you close your laptop cover, can add up to
smarter energy use for us all.
Windows 8 is the most energy efficient
version of Windows yet, with careful attention paid to apps that are in
the foreground. Apps that cycle to the background and go into suspended
mode have no impact on the battery at all. And because Windows 8 boots
so efficiently, you won’t experience any lag time while you wait for an
app you select to load up.
>>>step-by-step: Choosing a Power Management Plan
Windows 8 supports the same power
management plans that were available in Windows 7. The Balanced power
plan balances usage with performance, and Power Saver reduces computer
performance a bit to lower your energy use. Selecting a plan is as
simple as pointing and clicking.
1. On the Start screen, type power plan.
2. In the Search Apps panel, click Settings.
3. Click Choose a Power Plan. The Power Options dialog box appears.
4. Click the power plan you want to use.
Wait, Reverse That
If you change the
power settings and then have second thoughts and want to undo your
changes, you can click the Restore Default Settings for This Plan link
that appears in the same window where you modify the plan settings.
Windows 8 returns the plan to its default settings.
>>>step-by-step: Changing Power Options
Each of the power management plans you
can choose with Windows 8 enables you to set priorities about the way
you use Windows 8 and the type of power you use and save. For example,
you can choose a plan that saves as much power as possible or select a
plan that balances the power use with your computer’s performance.
You can view and change the settings to fit the plan you have in mind and tweak individual settings along the way.
1. On the Start screen, type power options.
2. Click Settings in the Search Settings panel. Power Options—such as Change what the power buttons do, Change battery settings, and Change what closing the lid does appear in the results list.
3. Click the power option you want to change. The System Settings dialog box appears.
4. Choose
whether you want your computer to sleep, hibernate, shut down, or do
nothing when you press the power button. Choose the setting first for
your computer when it is running on battery and then when it is plugged
in.
5. Select what you want the computer to do when you press the sleep button in battery and plugged in modes.
6. Choose what you want the computer to do when you close the computer lid (again, for both battery and plugged-in scenarios).
7. Click Save Changes.
