There are a plethora of ways to make your computer more energy-efficient, from setting a more aggressive timer for sleep mode to upgrading its power supply. Microsoft is working on a more direct way with the newest Windows 11 Insider 26002 builds, adding an “Energy Saver” mode to the power menu. This new tool sacrifices some immediate performance to cut down on energy consumption, and surprisingly, it’s not just for laptops.
The option is available both as a toggle deep in the Settings > Power menu and in the Quick Settings menu (Win + A), for both laptops and desktops. The immediate benefit is obvious for the former, but it’s nice to see that desktops aren’t left out of the discussion since they’re often adding quite a bit to your electricity bill. (Especially if you leave them running all the time — yeah, we see you Kevin, with your friends and family Plex server. Get a NAS already!)
The toggle can be set to apply automatically when your laptop battery drains to a certain point. Note that this feature is separate from Efficiency Mode, which is set on an app-by-app basis. As with all Insider build features, it’s not set in stone to come to the general Windows 11 release. But given how useful it might be, I’d guess we’ll see this one sooner rather than later.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who's been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.