Energy efficiency is a crucial aspect of modern computing, especially with the increasing emphasis on sustainability and reducing carbon footprints. While the term "Eficiência Energética" often pertains to hardware and physical systems, there are several strategies and configurations you can employ within the Windows operating system to enhance energy efficiency. This article will guide you through various methods to optimize energy usage on your Windows machine.

Examples:

1. Configuring Power Plans

Windows offers built-in power plans that allow you to manage how your computer uses power. Configuring these plans can significantly impact energy efficiency.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Navigate to Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
3. Choose a power plan (Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance) or create a custom plan.

Creating a Custom Power Plan:

powercfg /create CustomPowerPlan
powercfg /change CustomPowerPlan /monitor-timeout-ac 10
powercfg /change CustomPowerPlan /disk-timeout-ac 20
powercfg /change CustomPowerPlan /standby-timeout-ac 30
powercfg /change CustomPowerPlan /hibernate-timeout-ac 60
powercfg /setactive CustomPowerPlan

2. Using PowerShell for Advanced Power Management

PowerShell can be used for more advanced power management tasks, such as setting specific power policies and monitoring energy usage.

Example Script to Set Sleep Timeout:

# Set the sleep timeout to 15 minutes
powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 15

Example Script to Monitor Energy Usage:

# Generate an energy report
powercfg /energy
# The report will be saved as energy-report.html in the current directory

3. Disabling Unnecessary Startup Programs

Reducing the number of programs that run at startup can lower power consumption and improve boot times.

Using Task Manager:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Navigate to the Startup tab.
3. Disable unnecessary programs by right-clicking and selecting Disable.

Using PowerShell:

# List all startup programs
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_StartupCommand | Select-Object Name, Command, Location

# Disable a specific startup program (example)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" -Name "ProgramName" -Value $null

4. Optimizing Display Settings

The display is one of the most power-hungry components of a computer. Adjusting display settings can lead to significant energy savings.

Adjusting Brightness:

1. Open Settings > System > Display.
2. Adjust the brightness slider to a lower level.

Using PowerShell to Adjust Display Timeout:

# Set display timeout to 5 minutes when plugged in
powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 5

5. Enabling Hibernate Mode

Hibernate mode saves the current state of your computer to the hard disk and powers down the system, which can save more power than sleep mode.

Enabling Hibernate Mode:

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Execute the following command:

   powercfg /hibernate on

Creating a Hibernate Shortcut:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select New > Shortcut.
2. Enter the following command:

   shutdown /h

3. Name the shortcut and click Finish.