Summary
- Windows 11 will soon display an energy usage graph.
- The graph will provide insights into PC's power consumption trends.
- Task Manager can currently identify app power usage, but not overall energy trends.
Microsoft first introduced the battery usage graph to the Windows 11 Settings app in 2022. The feature is useful for many reasons, but it doesn't provide detailed insights into your PC's power consumption. The software giant has a plan to fix this: a new Windows 11 feature that will display your PC's energy usage graph.
Windows 11 will give you a deeper look at your PC's power consumption
The Battery levels in Battery usage in the Settings app show battery drain over an hourly interval. A similar feature is currently being worked on that will show energy usage in Windows 11. Microsoft is reportedly working on an energy usage graph that will likely show the rate of power consumption over time. While both battery levels and energy usage deal with devices' power, they're not the same.
By reading an energy usage graph, you'll likely get complete clarity over when your PC is drawing high or low energy. This is why it complements the battery level graph, as rightly pointed out by Windows leaker Albacore. The battery usage graph doesn't tell anything about what's causing the battery to drain. So, if you see a significant drop in battery level, you'll likely see a sudden spike in your energy usage graph at that particular timeframe. Users will get more clarity over this if Microsoft also shows the amount of power consumed by each application, just like how the Battery usage per app identifies which app is using how much battery.
How to extend battery life on Windows 11
If you want to extend the battery life of your laptop, there are a few Windows 11 settings you can change to help with that.
Windows 11 Task Manager can come in handy in identifying power usage
Microsoft is currently working on the energy usage graph, and no one knows when it'll be introduced to Windows 11 users. But if you're interested to know the power usage trend of your PC, the only way you can do it is by using the Task Manager. However, it won't be as useful as the energy usage graph.
The Windows 11 Task Manager shows power consumption for each app and process and doesn't tell anything about the overall energy usage trend over time. And since the Task Manager monitors only current resource usage, you'll get the power consumption details on apps and processes that are currently running. If you can look beyond the shortcomings, open the Task Manager, click Processes, right-click any of the columns, and then check Power usage and Power usage trends options.