7 Ways to Improve Battery Life on Linux Laptops

When talking about laptops, Linux is known for poor battery life. A laptop running Windows 10 might go on up to 8 hours, but the same machine will find it hard to complete even 4 hours on Ubuntu. Of course, Linux can be very power efficient if tuned perfectly with the hardware, but running it out of the disc means you will have to do some tweaking on your own to increase battery life in Ubuntu.

1. Modify the inbuilt Power Settings in Ubuntu

Buying a powerful laptop doesn’t mean that you need that power always. Taking it easy on the processor can help you get more battery life out of the machine. Go to ‘System Settings’ and click the ‘Power’ icon. You can then adjust the power settings as per your needs.

2. Switch off Bluetooth

It is a known fact that Bluetooth is a big battery drainer, even with Linux. So whenever you aren’t using Bluetooth, just turn it off. You can do so by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and switching the slider “off”.

3. Switch off Wi-Fi

If you aren’t using WiFi, just turn it off, as it’s a battery drainer just like Bluetooth. To do this, click the ‘WiFi’ icon in the system tray and turn it off. Switch it on again only when you need it.

4. Reduce Display Brightness

Increasing the brightness of your display demands more power, so it’s obviously good for the battery life to bring down the brightness level. You will either find brightness control keys on your laptop keyboard, or you can do that by going to System Settings > Brightness & Lock and then adjust the slider as desired.

5. Unplug Discs, SD Cards, USB Drives, etc.

Each USB drive, smartphone, and SD card you have connected to your laptop sucks on the power. So you must disconnect any external devices that are not in use. Of course, eject the USB drives safely by clicking on the eject button given for the devices.

6. Close Apps That Are Not in Use

Running apps use RAM and CPU, and some of them also keep the hard disk awake, even though you might not be using them. Such apps sit in the background and sip on your battery, so make sure you quit them completely.

7. Avoid Using Adobe Flash

It takes up a lot of battery to watch flash video on Linux laptop. Of course, it’s not that bad, but it does make a difference when you are trying to increase the battery life. Try using a browser that shows flash content only on-demand, like the Firefox browser.

If you know any other ways to increase battery life on Linux laptops, do let us know in the comments below.