Battery management tool for Linux

[Erik Groothuijzen]

I have recently migrated to Linux Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS on my Lenovo W530 ThinkPad, and am looking fo a battery management app.

# System Details Report
---
## Report details
- Date generated: 2025-05-09 09:28:05
## Hardware Information:

• Hardware Model: Lenovo ThinkPad W530
• Memory: 8.0 GiB
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM × 8
• Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 4000 (IVB GT2)
• Graphics 1: NVE7
• Disk Capacity: 1.3 TB

## Software Information:

• Firmware Version: G5ETB6WW (2.76 )
• OS Name: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
• OS Build: (null)
• OS Type: 64-bit
• GNOME Version: 46
• Windowing System: Wayland
• Kernel Version: Linux 6.11.0-25-generic

Unfortunately my battery has now given the ghost and I suspect it has to do with Linux. On Widows there is a Lenovo Vantage app with which you can monitor you pc but also manage your battery, interrupting the charge cycle at a certain percentage and therefore lengthening battery life. Also information on battery age, battery condition and number of charge cycles. Unfortunately this package only works with Windows, and I am now looking for a similar package for Linux. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can use? I am still not proficient with terminal but can get by if it is not too complicated.

 

[Brickwizard]

TLP is a popular app
sudo apt install tlp tlp-rdw

and from the ubuntu guides https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/improve-battery-life-linux

 

[Erik Groothuijzen]

And just like that, I get a pretty picture showing me what to do, and then my power settings do not give me the same options. I will have a look at tlp though, but it does look rather involved.

My own power settings

 

[CaffeineAddict]

@Erik Groothuijzen
There are two CLI commands for battery (not only laptop battery but also batteries of peripheral devices such as mouse):

• upower
• acpitool

For usage see man <tool_name>

acpitool is however only for laptop battery.

 

[Condobloke]

There is also Fdpowermon ....Not an app that I use, however it may/may not be of interest
(available via the Linux Mint software Manager)
Fdpowermon is a simple perl script that installs an icon in a system tray compatible with the freedesktop.org specification.

Every three seconds, fdpowermon calls acpi to find out what the current battery level is. It will set the output of the acpi command as a tooltip text, and will update the used icon as appropriate.

In addition, fdpowermon can optionally call perl subroutines when the power reaches a given level. No such subroutines are provided or enabled by default, however.

 

[KGIII]

The sad truth is that OEMs do battery optimization for Windows. They make available a complex set of instructions for Windows use. They don't give a rat's butt about Linux.

This is not to say that Linux can't be low-powered. In fact, it handles that very well. It's just that the OEMs don't care about Linux and today's battery management is rather complicated. That's just the cold hard truth in the matter, though in some cases the difference isn't all that great - and in many cases things are improving from where they were before.

Here's a SE question with a couple of good answers:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/119606/why-does-linux-have-poor-battery-life-by-default-compared-to-windows

There's not much you can do other than use the configuration tools you have for things like sleep and performance, install TLP, and just be sure to shutdown what you can as soon as you can. It's getting better. It will get better still if we transition to ARM CPUs. It'll get better still if OEMs start doing more for Linux. As it is, there are a few OEMs who will at least install Linux but they're installing it on the same hardware that they use for Windows and calling it good. They're not doing anything special with battery management - especially not at the hardware level.

So, for now, we're second-class citizens when it comes to battery life on your traditional laptop. There are low-power solutions out there and ARM adoption is coming along nicely, considering how long it had taken for it to gain momentum.

 

[Erik Groothuijzen]

I am running in aeroplane mode and run as few applications as I can. The solution to a longer battery life as in years, not hours, apparently lies in the number of charging cycles that the battery undergoes in it's lifespan. Vantage cuts the charger from the battery at a preset percentage. I had it set to charge from 60 to 80%, and that contributed to a longer battery life span. The only other solution I have is to remove that battery when I do not require it.

 

[tarzy20s]

I have recently migrated to Linux Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS on my Lenovo W530 ThinkPad, and am looking fo a battery management app.

# System Details Report
---
## Report details
- Date generated: 2025-05-09 09:28:05
## Hardware Information:

• Hardware Model: Lenovo ThinkPad W530
• Memory: 8.0 GiB
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3740QM × 8
• Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 4000 (IVB GT2)
• Graphics 1: NVE7
• Disk Capacity: 1.3 TB

## Software Information:

• Firmware Version: G5ETB6WW (2.76 )
• OS Name: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
• OS Build: (null)
• OS Type: 64-bit
• GNOME Version: 46
• Windowing System: Wayland
• Kernel Version: Linux 6.11.0-25-generic

Unfortunately my battery has now given the ghost and I suspect it has to do with Linux. On Widows there is a Lenovo Vantage app with which you can monitor you pc but also manage your battery, interrupting the charge cycle at a certain percentage and therefore lengthening battery life. Also information on battery age, battery condition and number of charge cycles. Unfortunately this package only works with Windows, and I am now looking for a similar package for Linux. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can use? I am still not proficient with terminal but can get by if it is not too complicated.

I'm wondering the same but I have a lenovo yoga aura

 

[Brickwizard]

I'm wondering the same but I have a lenovo yoga aura

the Ubuntu power control will work on any machine using Ubuntu or one of its clones.

 

[Erik Groothuijzen]

I have solved most of my Linux problems now, except that I don't know how it works. I have installed a new 1TB SSD and partitioned it. I have installed a caddy with the 240GB SSD in the DVD slot and have a special USB cable to use the optical drive when needed. The 240GB drive now has a complete Windows 10 installation for those occasions for apps that Linux does not work with. I have tried all the suggestions that have been given to me but no luck with wine and virtual systems. With the Windows package I installed the full Lenovo Vantage software which also has a battery monitor and management system in it. The battery is now set to start charging at 75% and stop at 80%. What I now notice with Linux is that the battery stays at 80% all the time. When I unplug the charger, the battery % drops, and when I plug it in, it charges to 80% if it dropped below 75% . Exactly what I needed. The only problem I now have with Ubuntu is that my laptop reboots at will without any obvious reason.
Very happy chappy with my dual boot system. I even have space to experiment with different Linux distros and my laptop is considerably faster.

 

[kc1di]

there is also an app by slimbook "slimbookbattery" which work quite nicely.
you can download it here

Release Version 4.0.8beta · Slimbook-Team/slimbookbattery

Slimbook Battery 4. Contribute to Slimbook-Team/slimbookbattery development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com