The browser settings that could save your laptop’s battery

Extend your laptop's battery life by optimizing your browser usage. Numerous open tabs, frequent web interactions, and continuous uploads/downloads significantly impact battery consumption. Fortunately, several strategies and browser-specific tools can mitigate this.

Google Chrome's Energy Saver

Chrome, often criticized for high battery drain, offers an Energy Saver feature. Activating automatically at 20% battery, it limits background processes and visual effects.

While enabled by default, verify its activation within Chrome settings: Click the three vertical dots (top right), select Settings, then access the Performance tab. You can disable it entirely, set automatic activation at 20% battery, or enable it whenever on battery power.

Chrome's Memory Saver, also accessible in the Performance panel, further enhances battery life by putting inactive tabs into a low-power state, freeing up RAM. While not explicitly a battery saver, reduced resource usage translates to longer battery life. You can whitelist essential sites to keep them active.

Microsoft Edge's Efficiency Mode

Microsoft Edge counters with its Efficiency mode. This reduces tab activity, disables video optimization, and suspends unused tabs after five minutes. Expect slightly reduced speed, but significant battery gains.

To configure, click the three dots (top right), then Settings, and finally System and performance. Select either Balanced savings or Maximum savings. You can also customize inactive tab sleep times and exempt specific websites. The mode can even be enabled while plugged in to reduce overall power draw.

Opera's Battery Saver

Opera's built-in Battery Saver deactivates non-essential background activities and disables plugins/animations.

When using Opera on battery, a battery icon appears in the toolbar. Click it to estimate remaining browsing time and access the settings (a small gear icon) to configure automatic activation thresholds (80%, 50%, 20%) or on battery power disconnection.

Browser-Agnostic Tips

For browsers lacking dedicated energy saving features (like Firefox and Safari), minimizing open tabs is crucial.

Extensions like Auto Tab Discard (Firefox) or Tab Suspender (Chrome) unload inactive tabs, reducing CPU/RAM strain. Dark mode, where available, lessens display workload, further extending battery life. In Firefox, access this via the three horizontal lines (top right), then Settings, General, and select Dark under Website appearance.

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