<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="tip"
      id="power-batterylife">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="power"/>
    <link type="seealso" xref="power-suspend"/>
    <link type="seealso" xref="power-hibernate"/>
    <link type="seealso" xref="shell-exit#shutdown"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.7.1" version="0.2" date="2012-11-16" status="outdated"/>
    <revision version="13.10" date="2013-09-19" status="review"/>

    <desc>Tips to reduce the power consumption of your computer.</desc>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>gnome-doc-list@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Phil Bull</name>
      <email>philbull@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="editor">
      <name>Ekaterina Gerasimova</name>
      <email>kittykat3756@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="editor">
      <name>Michael Hill</name>
      <email>mdhillca@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

<title>Use less power and improve battery life</title>

<p>Computers can use a lot of power. By using some simple energy-saving
strategies, you can reduce your energy bill and help the environment. If you have a laptop, this will also help to increase the amount of time it can run on battery power.</p>

<section id="general">

<title>General tips</title>
<list>
  <item>
    <p><link xref="shell-exit#suspend">Suspend your computer</link> when you
    are not using it. This significantly reduces the amount of power it uses,
    and it can be woken up very quickly.</p>
  </item>
  <item>
    <p><link xref="shell-exit#shutdown">Turn off</link> the computer when you
    will not be using it for longer periods. Some people worry that turning off
    a computer regularly may cause it to wear out faster, but this is not the
    case.</p>
  </item>
  <item>
    <p>Use the <gui>Power</gui> preferences in <app>System Settings</app> to change
    your power settings. There are a number of options that will help to save
    power: you can <link xref="display-dimscreen">automatically
    dim</link> the display after a certain time; 
    <link xref="display-dimscreen">reduce the display brightness</link> (for laptops);
    and have the computer
    <link xref="power-suspend">automatically suspend</link> if you have not
    used it for a certain period of time.</p>
  </item>
  <item>
    <p>Turn off any external devices (like printers and scanners) when you are
    not using them.</p>
  </item>
 </list>
</section>

<section id="laptop">
 <title>Laptops, netbooks, and other devices with batteries</title>

 <list>
   <item>
     <p><link xref="display-dimscreen">Reduce the screen brightness</link>;
     powering the screen accounts for a significant fraction of a laptop's power
     consumption.</p>
     <p>Most laptops have buttons on the keyboard (or a keyboard shortcut) that
     you can use to reduce the brightness.</p>
   </item>
   <item>
     <p>If you do not need an Internet connection for a little while, turn off
     the wireless/Bluetooth card. These devices work by broadcasting radio
     waves, which takes quite a bit of power.</p>
     <p>Some computers have a physical switch that can be used to turn it off,
     whereas others have a keyboard shortcut that you can use instead. You can
     turn it on again when you need it.</p>
   </item>
 </list>
</section>

<section id="advanced">
 <title>More advanced tips</title>

 <list>
   <item>
     <p>Reduce the number of tasks that are running in the background.
     Computers use more power when they have more work to do.</p>
     <p>Most of your running applications do very little when you are not
     actively using them. However, applications that frequently grab data from
     the internet, play music or movies can impact your power consumption.</p>
   </item>
 </list>
</section>

</page>
