http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/item/81/
Merged from 18976:
Power management still isn't very effective in Linux and it still puts a lot of laptop users off Linux. While Linux has come on a long way thanks to the work of Intel with PowerTOP informing developers when their software breaks the idol state unnecessarily so they are doing their part as well as the kernel developers now we still have a long way to go to compete with Windows and I'm looking at ways for Ubuntu to do this.

One of the benefits of Linux is that is very easy to customise and a lot of its users love to tinker. Ubuntu should therefore use this to its advantage by allowing its power users to easily have access to the latest developments in Linux power efficiency. This would also be useful to Ubuntu as power users could submit results on what settings are most economical for specific hardware. This would give Ubuntu the chance to market itself on its power efficacy over other operating systems by it silently implementing these settings on the detected hardware setup for new users.

To give users these advantages Ubuntu should help more on Intels Lesswatts projects as these are Linux's best bet on beating windows power management. The problem is the solution to effective power management needs to simple enough that it works for a new user that wont even know its active but also very easy for power users to modify and test their own setups from one central tool.

http://www.lesswatts.org/

[8015 votes] Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #81


[336 votes] Solution #2: Include a software like Ekobatt


[663 votes] Solution #3: Add more power saving techniques to gnome-power-manager


[333 votes] Solution #5: Analyze which software makes your machine use more power with PowerTOP


[2 votes] Solution #6: Develop/Intergrate WattOSPM (GUI laptop-mode/Powersaving) in2 Gnome-power-manger


[138 votes] Solution #7: Write a simple GUI to control laptop-mode-tools.


[18 votes] Solution #8: Make it a separate package


[57 votes] Solution #9: Expand the capabilities of gnome-power-manager


[5 votes] Solution #10: "Green Software" Logo


[159 votes] Solution #11: Integrate in other powersaving options.


[85 votes] Solution #12: Automatic charge/discharge


[25 votes] Solution #13: Set the maximum battery charge on AC power


[0 votes] Solution #14: Simple GUI or tray icon


]]> en-us Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:49:47 +0000 Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:26:49 +0000 QAPoll module http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/81/ using powertop and reducing brighten, reducing cpu frequence i get 1.50... (just compiz enabled)
with windows i get 2.40h, one more hour.

So I think it will be a very good idea to do a better power manager that lets control you different energy status, power save, just power save a little, and don't save power (but saving it more than now)

I know you know ways to do it, like stoping services... reducing cpu frequence etc...

I thinks its a very important question to take care about!]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:14:07 +0000
If the OS uses less power then it saves me money on my desktop. If the OS uses less power, then it makes my laptop last longer. Both are great results. ]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:56:10 +0000
I would LOVE to see Ubuntu last longer on one charge :-D.]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:12:26 +0000 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:55:32 +0000
I'd really like to see the battery last longer as well, of course better hardware like LED-backlit or OLED displays, CPU's with a low energy consumption and batteries with a higher capacity can realise that, but as others said, when it comes to battery life Ubuntu is inferior to Windows XP on identical hardware.

I'm not sure what Ubuntu can do to reduce power usage, because Ubuntu is obviously dependent on the Linux kernel and GNOME/KDE/XFCE when it comes to power saving measures. Even so, I'd hope to see the developers give this a higher priority.]]> Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:49:45 +0000 My battery life on windows was significantly longer.
This didn't stopped me from whipping windows though ;)]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:02:02 +0000
Both my girlfriend and I have laptops running Gutsy, and we get about half the battery life in Ubuntu than we do in Windows! (Of course, we still use Ubuntu all the time!)]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:12:44 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:19:42 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:33:41 +0000 I'd like to see a specific innovative idea to extend battery life, rather than a generic directive.

I would too, but I don't think that will be possible. If there was one single switch to flip to get better battery life, someone would have flipped it already. Rather, I suspect lots of small tweaks and optimizations will be needed. Think of all the things powertop suggests. No one has a huge effect, but taken together they can be substantial.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:13:13 +0000
this process alone gives me another hour of battery life

ex
#!/bin/bash
#shuts down the check to see if cdrom has new disk
hal-disable-polling --device /dev/scd0 'hal'

#enters laptop mode
echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/laptop_mode
laptop_mode start
#reduces power to wifi careful in places that have weak signals
#iwpriv eth1 set_power 5

echo 3500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs
#makes it so that file system doesnt change access times on files
mount -o remount,noatime /
#syndaemon -i .8 -d

#disables firewall to ban users that keep attacking your system
/etc/init.d/fail2ban stop

#if you have vmware installed stop's service
/etc/init.d/vmware stop]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:13:01 +0000 http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/applications-power-management/race-to-idle.php

Gnome power manager has hardly any amount of control, e.g. on my laptop I want to kill the display if user input is idle for 5 minutes - minimum is 11 ! Wtf? There is no cpu power management incorporated (compare this to Kpowersave which has a lot more features)

Also a problem is that when I want to leave my system doing something useful for a while (download, compiling etc) without changing my power prefs each time Gnome power manager will still suspend mid task. It does not seem very aware of apps that are doing something useful.

There seems to be a dbus interface called 'inhibit' that gpm (gnome power manager) devs have made (its mentioned somewhere on freedesktop.org) that allows apps to register with gpm to say 'dont go into suspend' or whatever. The problem is that we cant expect all apps to use it if its gpm specific. What is really needed is a standard daemon or kernel interface (that everyone will use) to allow apps to register themselves as busy (by using wrapper scripts if necessary), and prevent suspending that way.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:20:36 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:24:26 +0000
Even with 54WHr battery it is ready only for 1:45h :(

Pleaaaaaase pay attention to this problem :)]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:58:26 +0000
Working suspend-to-ram

Create a configuration where the hard disk can stay spun down when not in use.

Ability to use a usb/flash disk to cache disk writes while hard disk is spun down.

Software to analyse typical disk access to pre-cache likely reads into ram and flash before spinning down the hard disk.
]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:03:23 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:47:54 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:42:20 +0000
PS. compiz is known power hungry application according to lesswatts.org and other sites...it causes (for me in part.) the PowerMizer function in Forceware driver to turn on higher frequences...also about Vista - the life time in it IS NOT LINEAR - I mean you have for example 3h when AC is down, but watch what'll happen after 1 hour (looking at your watch) - the time is not 2 hours remaining!]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:56:39 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:14:15 +0000
I've also noticed that when I leave my laptop running (on AC) for extended periods and then go on battery, Gutsy says it switches to battery yet the brightness levels remain as if on AC. Just a minor gripe but it would be good if this could be addressed/incorporated in future releases.

I also think that any new power management interface should have some way to save customizable profiles that would be easily accessible, such as an applet in the panel. ]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:47:25 +0000
Also, asking for all enabled wifi drivers to enable the automatic power saving functionality would be nice. They are disabled by default afaik.

Also, gnome-panel could get an applet for showing how green you are running!]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:24:08 +0000
Especially the fact that it's dead easy to undervolt your CPU in XP and Vista makes a vast difference.

Therefore, one thing I would really like to see implemented in Ubuntu is PHCtool and/or linux-phc: http://phc.athousandnights.de/

I'm absolutely certain that Ubuntu can be 10% more efficient than Microsoft operating systems. It would be a great way to push Ubuntu into the (environmental) spotlight.]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:55:04 +0000 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:30:55 +0000
Of course, this idea is not specific to laptops and battery life. Let us not forget that desktops exist too! And they are not about to disappear just yet - on the contrary, I think that they will still remain for many years, although they will become less popular.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:41:05 +0000 New (NEW!) 6 cell battery

Windows XP: 2:30 hrs (the most, brightness 8/10)
Windows XP: 3:20 hrs (Wifi Disabled, I never use it like this)

Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 1:40 hrs (the most, PowerTop enabled, Wifi enabled/disabled, No CD)

Why?? tell me why???? I used to think ubuntu use less resources (therefore less power)... This thing just killed my adventure spirit. Anyway it's sweet and fully customizable-> I'll keep it alive.

Please solve this problem for normal users :)]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:07:05 +0000
I really believe the biggest problem is the video drivers. Where ATI has made some effort for a reduced power consumption mode, which could be pretty easily scripted in if one knew how to hook into the power-applied power-removed events... not something i know how to do.

As far as i know Nvidia has made no such effort... and the NV driver is best way i know how to overheat the 6600go in my notebook... the binary driver is much better.

Both ATI and nvidia have pretty effective throttling in windows... but the drivers really seem to be desktop centered in linux.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:26:41 +0000
oh, and these programs should come installed out of the box SHOULD the computer be a laptop/notebook (i'm sure there's a way to detect that)]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:44:45 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:46:15 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:21:00 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:31:16 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:48:26 +0000 you better use Ubuntu Linux
That's wrong goal in the first place: not about making something better but about pushing it onto others.

Well, I've filed idea#2279 on that... you'd better just use Windows, probably.]]> Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:38:25 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:07:04 +0000 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:19:30 +0000
Who btw cares that XP lives a bit longer on a laptop than ubuntu ? I rather drive a BMW M5 (ubuntu) which consumes a bit more fuel/energy than that Suzuki Alto (XP), this comparison works looking at perfomance AND features ;)
]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:48:16 +0000 I think user should be able to turn on/off device in their laptop + manage services + screen brightness + CPU loads etc.
all integrated in something like 'Power center' which will be enable by default only in laptop.]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:15:56 +0000 Preferences > Power Center and you can create power plans like in Vista, except they'll be called something else like "Power Profiles" or something so some obscure copyright is not violated. Then, there will be three profiles pre-created. "Full Power", which uses a good amount of power and enables everything, "Optimized", which is kinda in the middle which keeps services and devices on, but puts them in lower power mode, and lastly, one either called "Long Life" or "Economy" that disables things like the CD drive, wireless, and dims the screen a good amount.

And make it so you can create custom power plans or edit them and choose what is turned off, what devices are put in power saver mode (if possible for that device), and what is left on. Then you can rename your power profiles and have a menu pop up when you click the battery icon on the panel that allows you to choose from any of your power profiles instantly.]]> Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:17:41 +0000 This creates unnecessary noise, generates heat, and may well be the main reason for linux laptops poor battery life.

In the old 2.2.x kernel based distros all you had to do was to stop the "cron" service and the spin down worked just fine, but now with 2.6.x, even in "single user mode" the root disk spins up again after a few seconds.

There's probably a lot of deamons (service programs) that has to be fixed so they don't touch disks that are standby (stopped) unless they really absolutely have to.

And the anacron deamon should reschedule anything that touches the disk until its on ac power

Or perhaps the kernel could provide some means of saying "the disk hasn't changed since the last time you asked, because it is in standby mode" to help polling programs

]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:13:39 +0000 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:04:52 +0000
I should say Darwin definitely uses better power management ]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:57:43 +0000
Also, why the hell does the "Put display to sleep when inactive for..." in Power Manager _start_ at 5 minutes? My screen takes ]]> Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:26:19 +0000
For what it's worth, the res of the message was:
"... My screen takes less than 2 seconds to wake up again, and I'd much prefer to save the power from 2 minutes of inactivity onwards. The LCD in my laptop is big and juicy, five minutes is way too long, ]]> Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:39:09 +0000 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:59:00 +0000 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:29:21 +0000 it makes our laptops Cooler and less noise.
]]> Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:17:52 +0000 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:22:01 +0000
Thanks!]]> Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:34:41 +0000 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:23:07 +0000 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:23:29 +0000 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:34:49 +0000
I'm sure that Mark Shuttleworth has a laptop. He doesn't see the problem?]]> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:41:00 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:07:36 +0000
It is the main problem Ubuntu has for me. When I am in the train or in the bus, I have to use WinXp because it lasts one hour more, even after trying powertop, reducing the screen to the minimum dim, and enabling all the power saving options.

Apart from all those restrictions and with the better tuning I can get it stills sucks more power than WinXP or Mac. Why is that?

Compiz off, dim to the minimum, CPU frequency to the lowest, everything deactivated, and it stills sucks more than Xp.

We may propose this to google summer of code, since it looks to be a issue where all the help is needed.]]> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:21:07 +0000 ubuntu Linux runs like a charm, but the power management is nothing to write home about; 2.5hrs if lucky...

Get Greener Linux!]]> Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:55:01 +0000 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:07:44 +0000
On my Laptop (HP Compaq 8510p) I guess the main issue is that the GPU driver (radeonhd) does not correctly support the power management of the gpu. So we need better drivers..]]> Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:48:45 +0000 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:59:48 +0000 Would be even better if it read "you better use Linux." ;)

However, improvements have already been made on this topic, but this is definitely a never-acheived goal.

Ubuntu already managed to make Linux user-friendly, it would be awesome if Ubuntu could make Linux environment-friendly :)]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:53:32 +0000
I also agree with spin down improvements so that things are preloaded into ram and swap is not used until it has to, with provision for USB/Flash caching as well. ]]> Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:06:47 +0000
At least put it as medium!]]> Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:08:18 +0000
At least put it as medium!"

Come on, it's not like it was an issue lot's of people are voting for... :S]]> Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:01:40 +0000
After several tweaks (bluetooth off, writeback time increased, commit interval in mount options, etc.) I've managed to bring my idling power consumption down on my notebook as follows:

Laptop: Intel-based Dell Vostro 1400 w/ nVidia Graphics card. And yes, compiz is running.

Tweaks applied:
laptop-mode
hald-addon-storage
turn bluetooth off
HDA-intel power saving mode
vm_dirty_writeback_timeout
some other proc tunables
Cpu Governor: Powersave
Disable btnx

Lid open, display @ 50% brightness: 12-15 watts
Lid closed, (display off): 10-11 watts

Active, web browsing, etc.: 13-20 watts (it spikes a lot)
average according to powertop: 18-22 watts

Battery life estimates:
When on low power, 6.5 hours
When spiking at 22 watts and more: 3.5 hours
When being moderately used (18 watts or so) 4 hours

Basically, Hardy should definitely implement these tweaks.]]> Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:29:05 +0000 comparison between Hardy and Vista power consumption.]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:35:41 +0000 Fact is that power consumption in Ubuntu can be reduced HEAVILY by applying stuff found on lesswatts.org - this should somehow be integrated, preferrably easily configurable (talk power policy manager).]]> Wed, 07 May 2008 12:38:03 +0000 Mon, 12 May 2008 10:38:35 +0000 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:50:38 +0000 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:37:43 +0000
Power Management is one of my biggest complaints with Linux.

I am a laptop user, and to allow my computer not to overheat, and perform an emergency shut-down, I need to keep my laptop on a cooling rack (something generally designed for cooling hot food).

I frequently need to suspend my laptop, after playing sort of game, to help cool it down. I have seen through a cpu temperature monitor, one of my CPUs reached 80C (both are 1.83GHz).

I usually can't get my CPUs below 50C. While I was still using XP, my computer kept cool and I could put it on my bare desk or lap. The cooling rack then was unnecessary.]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:44:59 +0000 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:04:03 +0000 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:01:22 +0000 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:01:09 +0000
Anyways, the bits and pieces for power management are already present in the kernel. It seems to boil down to how chipset makers implement power saving features. Build a custom desktop PC and see for yourself.

Solution: Coders all have connections to the hardware vendors (Dell, HP, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, etc). Why not work out agreements to get the items needed to properly implement power management in the kernel, then provide standard hooks to the operating system(s) to control suspend/hibernate/WOL?
]]> Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:07:33 +0000
Laptop users usually don't use the specific apps that tie many people to windows (think games, video editing, photoshop). If Ubuntu can offer an alternative that will not only provide the mainstream user with everything he needs out of the box (which it already does), and provide equal/better battery life than the competition on the same hardware, that is a strong selling point, and thus should become the focus of development.

powertop provides an excellent base to do this, but power management needs to be invisible to the user. As soon as AC is removed, the screen should dim, bluetooth turn off, aggressive CPU scaling should go into effect, compositing should be disabled, and powertop suggestions instantly activated.If there are no wireless networks available when running on battery, wireless cards should be disabled too. If no wireless connection has been established after a few minutes, wireless should shut down.

]]> Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:07:57 +0000
i want to be able to follow school without being connected to a wall the whole time with that damm wire.

maybe i am asking much, but the whole day without that wire is really something that i would like ( 7 hours ).]]> Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:19:04 +0000 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:15:28 +0000
Lenovo (manufactor of Thinkpad) provides a superion power-managment plan and application for the Windows operative-system. With this, I can choose "maximum battery life", and the computer is super-quiet. Really, I put my ear close to the keyboard and I can barely hear anything (it's an ssd though). With a click I set it to "full-power" and the computer views HD videos with a breeze.

Well, Ubuntu runs the fan at full speed (never stop), can barely suspend, and of course, it's warm too. No thanks.

Of course, I still love Ubuntu and Gnu/Linux, but can't use it due to this.

I am not sure who is to blame, but a clean core install of Arch Linux, with only the kernel installed, the computer was way more power effective than Vista basic. But, when I start X, almost at the very moment, the fan starts, it become warm and all that. So I'll give Xorg the blame, but feel free to correct me, or even better correct it (power-managment).

I suggest you Canonical, to work with vendors (Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba) to make power-managment for Linux. And this should be the best, because nothing is restricted in the kernel or all the following applications.

Ubuntu 10.10, should be the LTS for the notebooks and (mark my words), the future and ultra-mobile generation.]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:11:10 +0000
Power management design philosphy
http://mjg59.livejournal.com/92880.html]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:32:42 +0000
I cant imagine any reason to say no to this.]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:21:06 +0000
http://lesswatts.org/projects/power-policy/index.php]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2008 05:04:01 +0000 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:40:49 +0000 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:18:23 +0000 Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:39:54 +0000
WattOS is the first Linux distro I have used that beat XP on battery life so Ubuntu should look into their tweaks to their base, but I don't have to apply any tweaks beyond CPU frequency management in XP to get frugal power consumption. The problem is most users will always take the easy route, and without work your still not it!

On the subject of the 'race to idol' this is only true if the application execution running exceeds the current frequency band you are in to run. I have an app that runs only at 84% CPU in the lowest frequency making jumping up a multiplication and resulting volts unnecessary as it is no faster 'to idol'. This is a problem because the system wants to make this jump at 70%, Therefore implementing manual Dynamic switching thresholds is an imperative for laptop users who know their usage traits!]]> Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:04:17 +0000
As others have reported above, machine becomes uncomfortably hot (starts to smell of warm plastic!).

I cannot therefore recommend to give up on Windows in fact, so far, XP is still greatly superior on a laptop and if this is not rectified soon Ubuntu will become irrelevant again.

I have wanted to move away from Windows for a while but this most important shortcoming of Ubuntu is stopping me.

I run Ubuntu only (and Windows if need be in a virtual box) on PC but as soon as something similar to Ubuntu comes along with better power performance I will leave Ubuntu behind without regrets. I predict my sentiment will effectively be shared by the entire laptop sector and therefore conclude: if power consumption issue is addressed Ubuntu will become tomorrows benchmark OS, if not it will be forgotten about quickly.

I advise people who want to switch from Windows to Ubuntu on a laptop not to do this yet!]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:29:07 +0000 This idea #81 isn't one idea (except for going green) but a mixed bag of ideas, one of which is a mixed bag of ideas mostly to reduce the various power consumptions of the computer and hence lengthen the time after which the battery needs to be recharged, which I would call battery cycle time or something, but I will call battery life #1 after your term.
Solution #13 wants to limit the charge of the battery to 60% or 80% with the effect that the battery deteriorates more slowly. Keeping the battery charged that way causes a 4% per year drop of maximum charge, which is one factor for battery life #1. Keeping it 100% charged causes a 20% percent drop instead. After 2 years, it will be 40% and after 3 years 60%, at which time you'll probably want to discard the battery, which is end of life #2, looking more like death than #1.
So, supposing that implementing all the rest of the mixed bag reaches a topnotch 150% life #1, the yearly schedule will be 150, 120, 90, 60, 30 %, funeral and maternity cash badly needed.
With doing nothing of that chore but solution #13 instead, the schedule is 100, 96, 92, 88, 84 %, and the beat goes on...
So, assuming you're not the one constantly on the road and on battery, which of solution #13 or the rest of the mixed bag do you prefer?

]]> Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:27:42 +0000 Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:26:49 +0000