Do we want to better manage the PC’s energy saving? Let’s see together how to configure the so-called efficiency mode of Windows 11
Microsoft has introduced the new versions of Windows 11 efficiency modea power saving mode that lowers the priority of active processes, thus improving power consumption and decreasing CPU load.
With the efficiency mode active on the heaviest processes, our laptop’s battery will last longer, we will have less fan noise and we will be able to start more programs at the same time, without risking the CPU slowing down too much.
READ ALSO -> Use Smart Battery Saver in Windows 10 and 11 on your laptop
1) Check Windows 11 version
Before starting to analyze how to manage efficiency mode, let’s check that we have the right version of Windows 11 installed on the system.
For this purpose we open the Start menu, type PC informationwe open the item of the same name and, in the screen that appears, we expand the menu Windows specifications (if necessary) and check the entry Version: if we have Windows 22H2 (or later versions) we can continue reading this guide.
If Windows 11 is not updated or we still have Windows 10 we suggest you read our articles on how to force windows update and install the latest version come on how to switch from Windows 10 or 11 Home to Pro.
2) Efficiency mode from Task Manager
The efficiency mode is automatically activated on the heaviest processes or processes that have been active for a long time in the system but we can activate this mode manually by pressing CTRL-SHIFT-ESC on the keyboard, selecting the process to be placed in energy saving mode and pressing on the top right Efficiency mode: we will see some green leaves appear, a sign that the mode is now active.
If a process is composed of several sub-processes (as in the case of Google Chrome), we will have to expand the mother process and select the process (or processes) that we want to put under energy saving, focusing (where possible) on the processes that take up more CPU and RAM resources.
To deactivate the efficiency mode (in case of excessive slowdowns of a 3D program or a software with high consumption of resources) simply select a process that already has green leaves and press on the top right Efficiency mode.
On the task manager integrated into Windows we can also read our ai guide best tricks for the Task Manager (Task Manager) in Windows 11 and 10.
3) Efficiency mode from Microsoft Edge
Efficiency mode is also present on Microsoft Edgethe built-in browser in Windows 11. This mode helps suspend unused Edge processes, as well as suspend inactive tabs for a long time.
To activate it, open the Edge browser from the Start menu, press on the three dots at the top right, go to the menu Other toolswe press on Performance and let’s make sure that the switch next to the item Efficiency mode is active.
Alternatively we can change the energy saving of Microsoft Edge by pressing on the three dots at the top right, taking us along the path Settings -> System and performance (we can also get there by typing in the address bar edge://settings/system) and activating the profile Maximum savings; we can also activate the voice Turn on efficiency mode when connected to power to obtain energy savings even when we are connected to the electricity grid.
Conclusions
Efficiency mode is a welcome addition to Windows 11 for improve energy saving of the heaviest programs and processes active in memory (in most cases the browser or graphics programs). It is not advisable to use this mode with games: they would slow down too much in most cases.
Really very useful Microsoft Edge efficiency modewhich make the browser more responsive to the opening of new tabs and more inclined to put tabs in suspension when we open many of them at once.
For further information we can read our guides on Power options in Windows 11 and 10 come on how to maximize CPU performance in Windows.
