- Windows 11 can recommend specific configurations to save energy while lowering your carbon footprint.
- You will find these suggestions on Settings > System > Power & battery (or Power) > Energy recommendations. On the page, you can click “Apply” for each suggestion or “Apply all” to apply all the suggestions.
On Windows 11, you can use “Energy recommendations” to change specific settings to help you save energy while extending your laptop’s battery life and lowering your carbon footprint.
As the name implies, “Energy recommendations” is a feature available through the Settings app that suggests configurations you can apply to your computer to save energy based on your hardware and features. For example, this feature can recommend changing the power mode, lowering the brightness, changing the sleep timers, and stopping USB devices to a setting that reduces the device’s energy consumption.
The best part about this feature is that it allows users to apply the available recommendations with one click without having to dig into the settings to change the configurations.
Although this feature is more suited for tablets and laptops, you can also find recommendations for desktop computers that don’t use batteries.
In this guide, I will explain the steps to find and apply Windows 11 recommendations to save energy, extend your battery, and lower your carbon footprint while working on your computer.
Check and apply energy recommendations on Windows 11
To check and apply recommendations to save energy on Windows 11, use these steps:
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Open Settings on Windows 11.
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Click on System.
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Click the “Power & battery” (or Power) page.
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Click the “Energy recommendations” setting.
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(Option 1) Click the “Apply” button for each of the suggestions.
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(Option 2) Click the “Apply all” button to apply all suggestions with one click.
Once you complete the steps, the system will make the changes automatically with the recommended settings without you having to take additional actions.
If you change your mind, you can revert the configuration, but you will have to change the settings manually from where the features are located. For example, if you choose to enable Dark mode, you will have to open the “Colors” settings in the “Personalization” section of the Settings app to change the settings.
If you’re still on the “Energy recommendations” page, you can click on the recommendation you applied to access the settings location for that specific feature.
Windows 11 energy recommendations list
These are some recommendations that Windows 11 can show in the Settings app:
- Set the power mode for best energy efficiency.
- Set the screen brightness for best energy efficiency.
- Put my device to sleep after 3 (or 10) minutes.
- Turn off my screen after 3 (or 10) minutes.
- Help improve battery by optimizing the content shown and brightness.
- Change brightness automatically when lighting around my changes.
- Automatically put my device to sleep when I leave.
- Automatically dim my screen when I look away.
- Turn off my screen saver.
- Stop USB devices when my screen is off to help save battery.
You can choose which recommendations to apply to your computer since you may not be comfortable turning on or off some specific features.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].