If you use your laptop on battery power, you’ll know how annyoing it is to lose battery power at the “worst time”. While I can’t guarantee your laptop will lose power at a more convenient time, I can offer ten ways to improve your laptop battery’s life. Learn, in this guide, how to save power when running on batteries. Skip to the end for a bonus energy efficiency tip.

Note: This guide is written for Windows 7 but most tips apply for Windows Vista.

10 Ways to Save Battery Power

Here’s 10 ways to save your laptop battery’s power:
1. Turn Down Screen Brightness

To turn down screen brightness, click the battery icon in the system tray and click Adjust screen brightness.

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Slide the brightness slider to the left until you can comfortably see the screen and it’s dimmest setting.

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2. Cut Down on Background Applications

Many background applications don’t need to run and only increase CPU cycles and, in turn, the demand on your battery. Here’s a couple of things you can do to cut down on background applications:
2a. Disable Windows Sidebar Gadgets

If you don’t use the sidebar, you probably have it disabled already (right click the Windows Sidebar icon in the system tray and click Exit.)

If you use the Windows Sidebar, do you really need all your gadgets running when you’re on battery power? To disable Windows Sidebar gadgets:

Click the Start button and click Control Pan