Power Management on macOS: Configuring Settings for Efficient Charging

Power Management on macOS

Even some of the biggest fanboys of Apple are not aware of the options available in the settings to improve the overall performance and experience while using a Mac. Optimizing the power consumption of the device is important to increase the battery life. You can find features that use more battery and features that help the device slow battery drainage. Battery drainage could also happen due to hardware and software issues. We can help you optimize and resolve this issue with the complete Macbook repairs Adelaide has to offer in Fix N' Talk.

You have to find the features in the settings and optimize them to decrease battery drainage after considering your usage. Keep up with this blog if you are looking for tips to improve battery life through regulated energy consumption on your Macbook. Configuring the device for controlled consumption while employing efficient charging is important.

Importance of power management in your Mac

Controlling the behavior of your Mac is important to improve its performance while not affecting its battery life. A Mac with optimized power management means fewer voice and temperature issues for you. Overlooking the 'Energy Saver' preference of Mac could cost you a lot in productivity and the efficiency of your device. This feature can control the way your Mac goes to sleep or Power Nap as per the actions you take.

The same options in a laptop device will be available in ‘Battery’, which also has helpful features like showing battery percentage, remaining charging time, etc. Two of the major features that the battery has are low-power mode and optimized battery charging.

You can find the 'Battery' option in Mac portable devices and 'Energy Saver' in desktop models inside the System Preferences. The right configuration for the use of less power could be done through these options. If you are confused about where to find them, click on the Apple Menu (top left corner of the screen), from which you can find System Preferences.

Configuration of power management features for efficient charging

Both desktop and mobile Mac devices need efficient power management to perform well. They both have their differences when it comes to power management.

Setting up the display sleep timer

As with any other digital device, the screen is one thing that uses more energy on a Mac. You can control the power usage of the screen by reducing the display sleep timer. This will let the device know to turn off the screen when it's not in use. Setting up an automatic timer for the screen is the best option for it. Along with the turning on and turning off features of the screen regarding usage, you can also choose to dim the brightness considering the charging state of the device.

Scheduling the startup, shutdown, and more

Controlling the basic operations of your Mac, including starting up, sleeping, shutting down, etc., is an effective way to improve efficient charging. Scheduling the timing of these actions can automatically keep your device on or off when you need it. In laptops, charging the device will be faster when it's not in use or is in sleep. The scheduling options for all these actions could be accessed from the battery option.

Disable Power Nap

Keeping the background processes running is essential to keeping the email, calendar, and iCloud updated. Power Nap is the feature that does this job on a Mac device, and it can be an extra for many Mac users. You can stop the drainage of the battery that happens through the background usage of the device while the device is in sleep mode by disabling Power Nap. All you have to do is untick the 'Enable Power Nap' feature inside the 'Battery' or 'Energy Saver' tab. This feature also provides you with the option to apply the change to both charging and non-charging conditions.

Letting the hard disk sleep

Macs with mechanical hard disks use extra juice from the battery to run the mechanical aspects of the drive. Putting the hard disk when not in use is a great choice to save power and speed up the charging of your device. The device will restrict the hard disc from spinning when not required.

Enabling low-power mode

Putting the device into a low-power mode when the battery level reaches a specific percentage can reduce the power consumption of your Mac. A device in low-power mode will pause most of its background activities while also decreasing the screen brightness. Besides, the remaining memory of the device will be effectively used for the most important tasks.

Enable Optimized Battery Charging

Enabling the Optimized Battery Charging feature in a Mac is one of the best ways to improve the lifespan of the battery. It has a working method of learning your daily usage and charging routine. By having an idea of the way you use your device, the Optimized Battery Charging feature will delay the charging process once the battery reaches 80%. 

The delay will continue until it detects that you need the power, from the behavior it learned. The major benefit of this feature is that your Mac can prevent the overcharging of the battery which will eventually decrease the life expectancy of the battery.

Laptops have the biggest need to optimize device performance to control energy consumption since they work on a battery. Configuring the system according to your needs is the first and foremost method to increase the charging efficiency and lifespan. 

Avoiding all the unnecessary charging cycles of the battery is the best way to keep your device healthy. The Optimizing Battery Charging feature mentioned above has the limitation that it will not be that effective with an irregular and unpredictable charging routine.

More tips for power management on Mac

Exposure of your device to extreme temperatures can damage your device due to Macbook overheating, and it can damage the battery.

Using the Low-Poer mode feature when you are not doing heavy tasks could increase the battery life of your device.

Keep an eye on the battery usage history once in a while to make sure about the healthy charging and discharging of the battery.

It is preferred to keep your device charged from 40% to 60% when the device is left unused for a while.