Introduction and Background

Every ecologist knows that it is more economical to save energy than to produce it.

True for notebook computer power or the power for any battery-operated device. Computer makers
know

They can gain far more battery life by cutting consumption than by increasing capacity.

Cuts and increases simply play by different rule

Trimming power use, however, is a software and silicon problem--areas in which breakthroughs
occur regularly.

Power management uses firmware, hardware and software solutions to conserves energy when
the computer sets idle and enters defined states of inactivity.

Power Management Overview-GOALS

The goal in a power management system is to cut waste, minimizing the power needs of a circuit by
making sure you only use what you need. For example, not all circuits in a component or computer
need to be active all of the time. You don't need your modem when you're not on-line.

Similarly, a microprocessor doesn't need to run its floating-point unit when it's not crunching
numbers. Switching off unused circuits saves power.

Also, you don't need to use the full speed potential of a microprocessor when the program you're
running

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PC Power Management Technology

Power management is a process that allows monitors and computers to enter low-power states when
sitting idle.
The monitor turns off, the CPU reduces power consumption, and the hard disk spins down

The Different methods to save power are by Designing Power Efficient Circuits, by reducing the
circuit size, current, voltage, by increasing speed and by allowing operating systems to directly
control and modify motherboard device settings, including power management functionality.

Every modern computer, whether a desktop or notebook model, has a wealth of power-saving
features and functions, from multi-speed microprocessors and fans to stoppable disks and dimmable
screens.

The most significant changes in the update gave the operating system greater control over power
management functions. For example, the revisions allowed the operating system to force the BIOS to
wait for the operating system to prepare programs and drivers for the switch before switching to a
lower power mode.

In addition, the operating system can override a hardware request for shifting to suspend mode, such
as when the hardware detects no user interaction but the operating system senses a program

WORKING OF POWER MGT

Power management in personal computers relies on the fact that for most of the time a typical PC is
on, it is not doing anything productive. As long as the computer is idle, energy use can be reduced
without interfering with work. Common methods used to reduce energy use are slowing down or
stopping the processor clock, spinning down the hard disk, and turning off entire system components
such as video or sound cards or disk controllers. Monitors can be power-managed by dimming or
blanking the monitor, or by turning off the main beam and possibly also the control electronics.
PC power management was first introduced in laptop computers to allow longer operating times
while running on battery power; later, it was brought into the desktop PC market. Many early power
management systems had long recovery times, awkward configuration methods, and low energy
savings. However, power management has improved rapidly, becoming more powerful, reliable, and
easier to use; it also now delivers considerably more energy savings. In 1993, Intel and Microsoft
introduced Advanced Power Management (APM), which is becoming an industry standard. The
APM protocol supports power management by defining how power management commands are
communicated within the PC system.

Power Management Modes and System

Computers are logically organized as a hierarchy of layers. Those at the top are the software that the
user directly interacts with; those closer to the bottom direct the physical control of electrical signals.
Power management can involve the application software and the operating system (sometimes these
are not involved), and always requires action by the firmware (BIOS), processor and peripheral
hardware.
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a combination of hardware and firmware (software in
read-only memory), distinct from the operating system, that intermediates between the processor and

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other parts of the system. In the first generation of power management (machines built through 1993
or 1994), it was controlled solely by the BIOS. As of 1996, the BIOS is still a key component, but
more of the configuration and control is rising into the operating system and occasionally into
application software. However, control signals must still pass through each intermediate layer for
action to occur.
Accomplishing power management has four components. The first is to monitor activity levels of the
processor, input devices (such as the keyboard and mouse), and communication peripherals (network
or modem). The second component is to utilize timers to decide when to initiate the shift to a lower
power mode. Third, changes in power management status need to be communicated to the correct
device and actually occur. Finally, power management needs to recognize when activity resumes and
return to a higher power (or full-power) mode.

Figure:PC Power Management key components and communication paths. The numbers
indicate the various steps in initiating power management, as described in the main text.

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The above figure shows the communication paths which allow power management to occur. The
BIOS send periodic signals (about once per second) to the operating system to begin power
management (see number 2). If this signal is passed through by the operating system, it will trigger
the start of the power management timers in the BIOS. The operating system will only pass the
signal through if it detects no activity from the application software (number 3). If there is no
activity, the operating passes the signal back to the BIOS (number 4), which begins a timer. The
BIOS continues to monitor keyboard and mouse activity (number 1). After a specified time with no
activity, the BIOS will initiate power management by sending appropriate messages to some or all of
the hard disk, peripheral cards, processor, and video card (number 5). After initiating a change in
mode, the BIOS begins another timer which indicates when to initiate the next power management
mode. If at any time the BIOS receives an interrupt request (keyboard, mouse, or network activity),
the BIOS will signal the required peripheral cards, processor, and video card to return to an active
mode (usually only a demand for hard disk activity will cause the hard disk to spin up). Examples of
peripheral cards include network interfaces and CD-ROM drives.

GUIDELINES FOR POWER MGT

More than half of this energy could be saved by taking two simple steps:
· Enabling power management functions that place monitors in low-power mode during
periods of inactivity.
· Turning off PCs and monitors after work.
Topics covered include:
♣ Charging your battery
♣ Monitoring your battery
♣ Adjusting screen brightness
♣ Turning off power-consuming components like wireless network connections
♣ Using power schemes
♣ Using standby and hibernation feat

Charging Your Battery

Charge your battery whenever you are at your workstation or AC power is available. Leaving
your workstation with a fully charged battery is your first step in maximizing your mobility.

MONITORING THE BATTERY

You can monitor your battery as it charges to see when it is fully charged.
To check your battery power if you are running on AC power and charging your battery
1. On the taskbar, tap the Start button, and then tap Control Panel.
2. Tap Performance and Maintenance, and then tap Power Options.
3. Tap the Power Meter tab.
Total battery power remaining is shown under Power status.

Adjusting Screen Brightness

To adjust screen brightness
1. On the taskbar, tap the Start button, and then tap Control Panel.

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 2. Tap Printers and Other Hardware, and then tap Tablet and Pen Settings.
3. Tap the Display tab.
4. Under Screen brightness, in the Settings for list, tap the scenario that you want your settings to apply
to.
5. To make the screen darker or brighter, move the slider to the left or to the right.
6. Tap OK.

Turning Off Power-Consuming Peripherals

Peripheral devices on your computer use power. For instance, your Tablet PC may have a wireless
network connection, a modem card, USB devices, FireWire devices, or an IR port. Because some of
these peripherals can draw a significant amount of power, you should consider unplugging them or
turning them off in situations where you want to conserve battery power. For information on turning
off your wireless network connection or your IR port, please refer to the manufacturer's
documentation.

Using Power Schemes

Power schemes are a collection of settings that manages the power usage of your computer. You can
select from a number of power schemes that are available in Power Options in the Control Panel, you
can adjust individual settings of any available power scheme, or you can create your own power schemes
to suit your particular system and preferences.

Using Standby and Hibernation Features

Standby is a low-power state in which your monitor and CPU turn off. When you want to use the
computer again, it comes out of standby quickly and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.
Use standby to save power when you will be away from the computer for a short time while
working.
Hibernation is a state in which your computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in
memory on your hard disk. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored exactly as you
left it. Use hibernation to save power when you will be away from the computer for an extended
time.

Turning Computer Off: Not Damaging:

Some people may leave computers switched on in the belief that to turn them off (say) each day may
lead to component damage. In particular, it has been thought that disk drives should be left spinning

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 POWER MGT IN OS:
The following table shows the different power management parameters available in different
OS.With the help of this table the user can identify the parameters in his machine.
Windows Operating System's Power Management option Availability
Power Mgmt. Option 95 98 NT Me 2000
Monitor Power Mgmt.
Turn off monitor Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Monitor standby Yes No No No No
System Power Mgmt.
Turn off hard drives Yes Yes No Yes Yes
System standby No Yes No Yes Yes
System Hibernate No No No Yes Yes
The availability of these options is dependent on compatibility of operating system (including
APM/ACPI), BIOS, and processor hardware.
PC Power Management Decisions and Actions

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TIPS FOR POWER MGT IN OUR SYSTEM

Your monitor power management is enabled If your screen goes blank after a period of inactivity.
In Windows 95, 98, Millennium Edition and 2000, you can also can check monitor power
management status by clicking on the Start button, then selecting Settings, Control Panel, Display,
Screen Saver, and Monitor Settings.

If power management is not possible, you can switch off the screen when not in use for prolonged
periods. This will save 50-70% of the power used by the computer. During non-use hours, such as
nights and weekends, you can turn off both your monitor and your computer, which reduces energy
use to near zero. Note that newer monitors have a separate wall socket for both the monitor and the
computer, so both have to be turned off. In earlier computers, the monitor was usually connected to
the computer's pow er supply, so that the monitor was turned off when the computer was turned off.
In addition, the switch on the front of the monitor may be only the standby power switch. Some
monitors have their on/off switch on their back or side.

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Enabling PC Power Management in x86-based Machines

PC Power Management for Windows 3.1 and Windows NT

Windows 3.1 does not have direct PC power management capability; it must be done through the
BIOS. Similarly, most versions of Windows NT do not address power management, so that power
management on machines running Windows NT will generally be accomplished by the BIOS. Some
versions of Windows NT, particularly those designed to run on laptops, do incorporate power
management. For both systems, see instructions below on configuring power management in BIOS

PC Power Management for Windows 95

Windows 95 provides power management control capability that other Microsoft operating systems
lack.

With the PC on and running Windows 95

• Open My Computer on the Main Screen.

• Open Control Panel.
• Open System Devices.
• Open Advanced Power Management.
• If the Enable power management support option box is checked, then APM support is
enabled. We recommend that the remaining three options be set to 'off'. If Force APM
1.0 Mode is on, then the newer APM version (1.1) will not be used. Disable Intel SL
support will disable doze mode if needed. Disable Power Status Polling will eliminate
compatibility problems with the mouse on some systems.
• Open the Power control panel. Power management can be set to Advanced, Standard
or Off. We recommend setting it to Advanced. Standard also enables power
management. (note: The Power Status and Battery Meter items do not need to be
enabled on the PC's "task bar" for power management to operate; these are for laptop
computers).

Monitor Power Management in OS/2

By default, OS/2® installation automatically configures and enables power management for
machines whose BIOS support APM. To check the power management settings, perform the
following with the PC on and running OS/2.

• Open OS/2 System folder.

• Open System Setup folder.
• Open Power object.

If the Power Status window is displayed, power management is enabled.

If the Power Properties window is displayed, select the Power Management On button;
this will enable power management.
If the Power object is not present in the System Setup folder, then necessary power
management software has not been installed on the machine. Use the OS/2 Selective
Install Utility to install this software.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING POWER MGT.

The following are some of the factors affecting power management.

♣ Length of time you are away from an AC power supply

♣ Battery performance of your particular Tablet PC model
♣ Power demands you place on your computer while away from AC power.

The notebook computer would run longer on a single battery charge without your being aware of any
of the fancy footwork of proprietary microprocessor technologies, or even ACPI. When you're not
looking--and not working --the power management features of your PC would swing into action and
switch off every circuit of your system that is not in use.

If you always demand full power from your microprocessor, microprocessor power management
would be meaningless. For example, set your computer deriving the exact value of pi or some other
endless problem (for example, calculating your income tax), demand for your system's
microprocessor never slacks, and the elaborate power reduction systems built into modern
microprocessors never have a chance to take effect.

Power-saving technologies work best in the intermediate zone, when you need some processing
power but not every last gigaflop.

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Power- saving
A personal computer therefore typically consumes about 1MWh per year; given that the
University is currently charged, on average, at a rate of 10.5c/kWh, this amounts to $100/year;
given that the normal working week only represents about 25% of this, the wastage comes to
about $75/year. This may sound like a lot, but when multiplied by 6,500 amounts to nearly
$500,000 – as much as 25% of the total University power bill of about $2million/year.

Even if only monitors were turned off, only at night, the difference would amount to nearly
$400,000/year. Now, of course, many computers and monitors are turned off during inactive
periods, so some of these savings are already being achieved. Nonetheless, they illustrate the fact
that savings could be very significant indeed – it is estimated that savings of around $200,000
(10% of the whole power bill) could be saved if those monitors which are not currently turned off
were to be.

Energy
Current Use 1,400,818 kWh
Future Use 485,784 kWh
Savings 915,034 kWh
Dollars
Current Cost $177,904
Future Cost $61,695
Savings $116,209
Percent
Savings 65%

• It is estimated that a typical machine is in active use less than 10% of the time.
• Monitors can save more energy than PCs and are usually easier to enable for power
management.
• For many PC systems, the BIOS is the key to successful power management.
• Several low-power operating "modes" are defined, some within the Advanced Power
Management standard, and some beyond it.
• Networks and network operating systems can pose significant challenges to power
management.
• Power management can be found in many types of computer systems, including many
PCs running DOS, Windows, MacOS, or OS/2, or workstations running UNIX or
OS/2.
• There are many specific barriers that can arise to defeat power management, but most
are solvable.
• For existing PCs, the simplest energy savings strategy is to simply turn devices off
when not in use.

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 • Delay times of 10 to 20 minutes are recommended for each power management state
(except hibernation).
• New computer purchases can be made with power management in mind.
• The future is bright for power management.
• Keeping up-to-date is important.

Benefits of power mgt.:

Power-managed computers are available at no additional cost, and a single power-managed computer
and monitor may save anywhere from $5 to $50 per year in electricity bills, depending on how many
hours per day the computer is left on and on how much of the time the computer is in active use. The
amount of electricity savings from power management is highly dependent on user operating
patterns-if the computer and monitor are often left on at night and on weekends, savings will be
toward the higher end of this range. For a typical office environment with 100 computers, using
power-managed PCs and monitors instead of non-efficient equipment could save $2,200 per year.

The figure shows the total power used by an active computer (PC and monitor; typically about 120
W), one that just meets the ENERGY STAR standard (30 W each for the PC and monitor), and a
"best case" scenario for a desktop PC. Some manufacturers have gone well beyond the ENERGY
STAR level, however, so that it is easy to purchase a PC and monitor that together use only 30 W in
low-power modes (with most of the extra savings from the monitor). Laptop PCs can power down to
much lower levels than desktop PCs, but in the future we may see desktop PCs with energy
performance comparable to laptops.

Figure: PC and Monitor power use in suspend mode for different computers.

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The table1 shows a typical PC operating pattern, derived from observations of PCs in actual use. The
typical scenario has 9.5 hours of on-time per day-four hours of active use and 5.5 hours of idle time
(low-power for power-managing PCs). The user is away one weekday each week (for vacations,
travel, etc.), with 20% of machines left on during these days and weekends. A typical year has about
880 hours of active time, another 2280 hours of low-power time, with the remaining time off . Power
management savings are a function of the low-power time percentage and the difference between the
electricity use at full-on and low-power modes for the particular PC or monitor. A machine on
continuously, but power-managed, would save about three times as much as the scenario below
shows.

Table1: Typical PC Usage Pattern

Percent of time in each mode Hours per day in each mode

Active Idle Off Total Active Idle Off Total
(Full- (Full-
(Low) (Low)
on) on)
Workday 17% 35% 48% 100% 4 8.4 11.6 24.0
All Days 10% 26% 65% 100% 2.3 6.9 14.9 24.0

The following formula shows how to calculate the electricity savings for a PC or monitor, with a
sample calculation for a typical system.

Annual Electricity Savings = Hours-in-year x Low-time-% x (Active-power - Low-Power)

for example, = 8760 hours/year x 26% x (165 W - 30 W)
= 307 kWh/year

The table 2 shows the energy and dollar implications of power managing several typical PC and
monitor types, according to the typical scenario above. As can be seen, power management of
monitors has higher energy savings potential than it does for PCs alone. There is a considerable
amount of variation in energy use in PCs and monitors, so while these values illustrate typical use,
yours may differ. Note that PCs and monitors vary considerably in both their active and low-power
energy consumption, which, in addition to the operating pattern, greatly influences the energy use
and savings you can expect.

Table 2: Power, Annual Energy Use and Dollar Costs of PCs and Monitors

Power (W) Annual Use

PM Status Active Idle (kWh) ($)

Computers
without
65 65 217 17
PM
386 with PM 65 25 117 9

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FUTURE TRENDS
Computers are one of the fastest changing technologies in our society. Not only is the hardware
and software changing at the desktop, but the "information superhighway," the Internet, the
World Wide Web, and other such emerging information systems offer new uses for computers
and information technologies that are changing our lives. The systems of tomorrow may
drastically differ from those we see on our desktops today. Much of what has been discussed in
earlier chapters could be out of date or obsolete in a few years. We encourage forward-thinking
readers to familiarize themselves with the emerging approaches and trends in power management
that will likely be prominent features of PC systems available in the near future
OnNow represents Microsoft's plans forthe future of power management, where the PC stays on
continuously and power-manages connected peripherals.
The OnNow PC platform will be expected to function in these ways:

• The PC is ready to use immediately when the user presses the On button
• The PC is perceived to be off when not in use but is still capable of responding to
wake-up events. Wake-up events might be triggered by a device receiving input such
as a phone ringing, or by software that has requested the PC to wake at some
predetermined time.
• Software adjusts its behavior when the PC's power mode changes. The operating
system and applications work together intelligently to operate the PC to deliver
effective power management in accordance with the user's current needs and
expectations. For example, applications will not inadvertently keep the PC busy when
it is not necessary, and instead will pro-actively participate in shutting down the PC
to conserve energy and reduce noise."

CONCLUSION
IBM suggest that power management can only be optimized by taking advantage of synergy
between the operating system power management facilities and power-management-aware
application software.
However the final word will be, "The users will benefit as the reserve computational capacity of
systems increase while at the same time the average power requirements decrease. Ultimately the
environment benefits as well. Reaching this goal, however, requires cooperation of component
manufacturers, system hardware designers, operating system providers, application software
developers and from all sectors."

Get Educated and Provide Feedback

The most significant factor that could lead toward a quick evolution of effective power
management systems in computers is consumer demand! Most PC users are unaware of the
energy-saving features in today's PCs. An educated consumer is a powerful consumer. We
encourage interested readers to provide direct and pointed feedback to computer suppliers and
manufacturers about their power management features. If the consumer requests these features,
the manufacturers will modify their equipment to meet the demand.

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Links to Other Websites About Power Management

• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management -- Power
Management Energy star
• http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/power-mgmt/ -- Power Management for Laptops
• http://eetd.lbl.gov/EA/Reports/39466/ -- User guide to Power Management in PCs and
Monitors
• http://dynamicpower.sourceforge.net/ -- Dynamic Power Management
• http://tuxmobil.org/apm_linux.html -- Power Management Linux Laptops and Notebooks
• http://www.mvista.com/dswp/power_management.pdf -- Dynamic Power Management for
Embedded Systems

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