Use powertop to check power consumption.
sudo apt-get install powertop
sudo touch /var/cache/powertop/saved_parameters.powertop
In battery mode:
sudo powertop --calibrate
Let it run for approximately 1h (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=698020).
Turn off bluetooth on startup:
sudo gedit /etc/rc.local
Insert the following line before “exit 0”:
rfkill block bluetooth
Get the brightness adjustment keys to work:
sudo gedit /atc/default/grub
Change
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=””
into
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=”acpi_osi=Linux”
sudo update-grub
(Source: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1481995)
Install and configure TLP:
sudo apt-get remove laptop-mode-tools
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw smartmontools ethtool
sudo update-rc.d -f ondemand remove
sudo gedit /etc/default/tlp
Change:
DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_BAT=2
[…]
#CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=ondemand
#CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=ondemand
[…]
#DEVICES_TO_DISABLE_ON_STARTUP=”bluetooth wifi wwan”
to:
DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_BAT=5
[…]
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=ondemand
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave
[…]
DEVICES_TO_DISABLE_ON_STARTUP=”bluetooth”
(Source: http://askubuntu.com/questions/285434/is-there-a-power-saving-application-similar-to-jupiter)
Implement powertop suggestions automatically (http://askubuntu.com/a/271281):
sudo gedit /etc/pm/power.d/power
Enter:
#!/bin/sh
# Shell script to reduce energy consumption when running battery. Place
# it in /etc/pm/power.d/ and give execution rights.if on_ac_power; then
# Start AC powered settings ——————————————–#
# Disable laptop mode
echo 0 > /proc/sys/vm/laptop_mode#NMI watchdog should be turned on
for foo in /proc/sys/kernel/nmi_watchdog;
do echo 1 > $foo;
done# Set SATA channel: max performance
for foo in /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/link_power_management_policy;
do echo max_performance > $foo;
done# CPU Governor: Performance
for foo in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor;
do echo performance > $foo;
done# Disable USB autosuspend
for foo in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/level;
do echo on > $foo;
done# Disable PCI autosuspend
for foo in /sys/bus/pci/devices/*/power/control;
do echo on > $foo;
done# Disabile audio_card power saving
echo 0 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save_controller
echo 0 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save# End AC powered settings ———————————————-#
else
# Start battery powered settings —————————————#
# Enable Laptop-Mode disk writing
echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/laptop_mode#NMI watchdog should be turned on
for foo in /proc/sys/kernel/nmi_watchdog;
do echo 0 > $foo;
done# Set SATA channel to power saving
for foo in /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/link_power_management_policy;
do echo min_power > $foo;
done# Select Ondemand CPU Governor
for foo in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor;
do echo ondemand > $foo;
done# Activate USB autosuspend
for foo in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/level;
do echo auto > $foo;
done# Activate PCI autosuspend
for foo in /sys/bus/pci/devices/*/power/control;
do echo auto > $foo;
done# Activate audio card power saving
# (sounds shorter than 5 seconds will not be played)
echo 5 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save
echo 1 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save_controller# End battery powered settings —————————————–#
fi
sudo chmod +x /etc/pm/power.d/power
Power saving tweaks for Intel integrated graphics:
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
Change:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash”
to:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash pcie_aspm=force i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1 i915.semaphores=1″
sudo update-grub
VA-API (Hardware Acceleration For Intel / AMD GPUs):
sudo apt-get install i965-va-driver libva-intel-vaapi-driver vainfo vlc vlc-plugin-pulse browser-plugin-vlc
Open VLC. In Tools > Preferences > Input & Codecs, enable “Use GPU Accelerated decoding”.