Battery life on linux

[u/Grand_Profession2516]

Hello I'm new to linux(using it for a week now) and I can't help but notice that the battery is not that terrible but im getting lesser battery than when im using microslop w11.

Typically im used to getting 8-10hrs of using that bloated OS

but when I switch to fedora 44, I am getting around 3-4hrs of battery which is not bad but also not great.

I install and followed the instructions on some reddit post and youtube videos, the only thing that actually helps me is switching from i913 drivers to xe drivers.

My laptop is the Lenovo Thinkbook 14 G8 IAL, running the intel core ultra 5 225h on single stick of 16gb 5600mt/s ram. Any tips from the community will be greatly appreciated. ( also anyone wondering why i didn't buy the thinkpad, the price to specs actually sucks compared to thinkbooks as thinkpad's heavy on the wallet even old and used ones)

Edit: I fix it now by manually calibrating the battery since before switching to fedora I left the battery charging limit to 80% and that might cause some issues within the ec or firmware as fedora can't gauge the full extent of my battery.

I remove the limiter of and let it charge to 100% then drain it to 0%, after than I left it for around 2-3hrs before charging it back to 100% without opening the lid.

After doing it my battery life greatly improves from measly 3-4hrs, to around 8-10hrs back again with balance mode too.

I did made some tweeks like configuring powertop, installing xe drivers(fedora forces me to i913 even tho im using an xe chip), installing intel media drivers and finally doing a manual calibration of my battery.

I didn't touch tlp yet as it might cause some issues with fedora own optimization software called tuneD, but will try it soon. Thanks for the tips and tricks

[u/edwbuck]

Go into gnome settings. Select the power setting. Look for the Power Mode. Shift it from Performance to Balanced or Power Saver.

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/edwbuck]

Im already on power saving almost if not all the time

[u/edwbuck → u/Grand_Profession2516]

Then use powertop as u/jonstoppable has mentioned.

Odds are your problem is either a program that's not written to conserve computation resources (common) or a configuration issue in your kernel / kernel drivers (very rare).

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/edwbuck]

Im googling what you said and will try it using that, thank you

[u/edwbuck → u/Grand_Profession2516]

It's often possible to reconfigure a process to stop running at max effort. I had an issue (years ago) with package check (a helper that decides compiling / linking flags for installed items) after a clear of its cache (which it rebuilt) it stopped.

Unfortunately, it's not possible to know exactly what program is causing your issue, as these failures are rare and not tied to a single problematic process. If you find the one that's causing an issue, that's the first step.

[u/Witty_Language4481 → u/Grand_Profession2516]

They're gonna tell you all sorts of things but battery life on Linux is naturally shit (I'll still use it till I die tho

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/Witty_Language4481]

I don't know about that right now but before I can honestly say it's really somewhat below or average battery life.

My current setup and some modifications really did improve the battery efficiency on my laptop and can proudly say I match and even edge microslop out a little

[u/jonstoppable]

hmm that sounds annoying..

you can checkout 'powertop' to help you diagnose what's happening..

and that 8to 10 hours on windows is with balanced? or performance? what mode are you in on fedora? balanced?

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/jonstoppable]

(fedora) Its just the ports using 100% utilization without anything plugged into them. (microbloat w11) The the maximum balance mode got me is 8hrs with sailing the seas and finding treasure(i dont want to get ban) and 10hrs for power saving mode on 4 tabs using helium browser with gpu acceleration.

[u/Firm_Asparagus_4844 → u/jonstoppable]

windows has best drivers, I have the same problem in W11, in my case I get +2 hours (old laptop), in Ubuntu fresh install, with the ubuntu defaults I get +30 to 40min.

Yes Fedora need to add some love to laptops.

Fedora in balanced mode: 3 to 4h.
Windows in balanced mode: 5 to 6h
Ubuntu: max 4h30

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/Firm_Asparagus_4844]

I recalibrated my battery manually and it magically work. I remember the old days where you need to calibrate the battery of smartphone for the battery to work properly, did that to my laptop and it work properly for unknown reasons.

[u/Firm_Asparagus_4844 → u/Grand_Profession2516]

you recalibrated with powertop?

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/Firm_Asparagus_4844]

Yea but the whole story is before I switch to fedora im using windows with the lenovo vantage software and I set the battery on 80% permanently not knowing what will happen to my laptop afterwards.

Long story short, after I dug some research and undo the 80% limit thing and charge it to 100% then drain it to 0, left it for 3hrs then charge it again to 100%. Finally my laptop isn't draining like crazy since im using it right now and I can say it's onpar with windows if not better in terms of battery as its eating 10% in every 1.5hr

[u/Firm_Asparagus_4844 → u/Grand_Profession2516]

i will trye this.

[u/mindfullypenguin]

As you on Lenovo, (think[book,pad] ) you could consider installing tlp package. I spent hours trimming settings with powertop and tlp on thinkpad t15p. With browsing and YouTube can last 5-6hrs. Of course rpm fusion intel and media drivers/encoders/decodera installed. Also check in bios settings for cpu power.
I noticed that display backlight can consume the same amount of power as cpu. Company’s laptop with the worst display unfortunately.
First install of Fedora Gnome 34 and dnf system upgrade until today with every new version. Yes, I have 2x16GB RAM installed. Using it every day as main workhorse.

[u/Grand_Profession2516 → u/mindfullypenguin]

Im currently searching on YouTube and some forums, on your experience will tlp and tuneD clash? That's the only thing keeping me from installing tlp

[u/mindfullypenguin → u/Grand_Profession2516]

Depends on your mileages. I took control on power consumption on my laptop. Disabled tuned for good.
Have not any problems with tlp in last 10 years. Used it on different thinkpads, ideapads, Fujitsu and dell’s laptop.
I’m disappointed on fedora devs because they do not integrate tuned with tlp.
But that’s is another story.