A forthcoming Windows 11 eco-friendly update aims to help reduce your energy consumption
As long as you can, it’s best to preserve energy wherever possible. Not only is it better for the environment, but it also saves you money on your electric bill. New energy-saving capabilities have been included in an impending Windows 11 upgrade.
This feature was uncovered in the latest Windows 11 Insider Build by Twitter user Albacore. There seems to be a new “Sustainability” option in the system that allows users to check their system’s “Eco Score.” The menu will also let users edit their eco settings, to help them reduce their machine’s energy usage.
Exploring the inner workings of any piece of software, even Windows, may lead to some surprising discoveries. There are no less than three fascinating new features buried in Windows 11 that a software detective has discovered. There’s a good chance that Microsoft is still working on these features and will make them available in a future release of Windows 10.
An intrepid investigator has uncovered evidence of planned changes to the way alerts function and a likely rename of Focus Assist to just “Focus”. Some other perks include wallpaper stickers and a new energy conservation section in Settings that gives your computer an Eco Score and recommends ways to reduce its energy use.
Other improvements in the version include Focus Assist becoming Focus, with more choices and the ability to schedule using Outlook, as well as a new home for notification settings.
The new sustainability elements are the most fascinating by far, however. Windows already includes some limited eco-conscious capabilities, and has done since Windows 10. For instance, there’s a sliding scale on the taskbar battery symbol that allows you prioritize energy conservation or performance. But from the little we’ve seen of it so far, the new sustainability option looks to be a lot more in depth.
The Eco Score system is visible at the top of the screenshot, in the shape of a five leaf scale. Presumably they will glow green to represent how eco-friendly your machine is at any particular moment.
Meanwhile, the energy-saving features seem to be separated between basic settings, and advanced choices. The latter will probably allow you greater control over how your system saves energy, and that seems like a reasonable difference to make, since you may not always want Windows to decide for you.
For instance, while gaming you may want to suck in the additional electricity required for optimal performance, even if that affects your Eco Score momentarily; I definitely know a few folks who will be fairly irritated if they have to succumb to 30fps because their PC tries to preserve energy against their will.
The menu also offers a link providing guidance on how to recycle your machine, when the time comes to buy a new one. This is potentially pretty useful, since putting your old laptop in the garbage like an old pizza box is both wasteful and an environmental concern.
Unfortunately, the new sustainability features aren’t functional just yet, which means it may be a while before they roll out to the stable version of Windows 11. Frankly, I can’t wait: not only may this help me save money on my power bill, but anything that keeps my laptop’s ageing battery powered up for longer is urgently required.