Initial commit: Battery Life Optimization toolkit with TLP and PowerTOP
- Complete installation and uninstallation scripts - Optimized TLP configuration for maximum battery life - PowerTOP analysis and auto-tune functionality - Real-time battery monitoring with detailed stats - ThinkPad-specific optimizations and battery thresholds - Comprehensive documentation and usage guides - Tested on ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 with 13% power reduction
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docs/powertop-guide.md
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docs/powertop-guide.md
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# PowerTOP Usage Guide
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## Overview
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PowerTOP is a Linux tool to diagnose issues with power consumption and power management. It provides detailed information about power usage by various system components and suggests optimizations.
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## Installation Verification
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After running the installation script, verify PowerTOP is installed:
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```bash
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# Check PowerTOP version
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powertop --version
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# Quick test (requires sudo)
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sudo powertop --time=5
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```
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## Basic Usage
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### Interactive Mode
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```bash
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# Launch PowerTOP in interactive mode
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sudo powertop
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```
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**Navigation:**
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- `Tab`: Switch between tabs
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- `Enter`: Toggle tunables
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- `q`: Quit
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- Arrow keys: Navigate lists
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### Tabs Overview
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1. **Overview**: General system power consumption
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2. **Idle stats**: CPU idle state statistics
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3. **Frequency stats**: CPU frequency usage
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4. **Device stats**: Individual device power usage
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5. **Tunables**: Available power optimizations
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## Command Line Usage
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### Generate Reports
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```bash
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# Generate HTML report (60 seconds)
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sudo powertop --html=report.html --time=60
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# Generate CSV report
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sudo powertop --csv=report.csv --time=60
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# Custom duration
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sudo powertop --html=report.html --time=120
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```
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### Auto-tune Mode
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```bash
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# Apply all available optimizations
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sudo powertop --auto-tune
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# View what would be changed (dry-run)
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sudo powertop --auto-tune --debug
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```
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**Note:** Auto-tune changes are temporary and reset on reboot.
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## Using the PowerTOP Analysis Script
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Our custom script (`scripts/powertop-analyze.sh`) provides enhanced functionality:
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### Basic Report Generation
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```bash
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# Generate 60-second HTML report
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh
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# Custom duration and format
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh --duration 120 --format csv
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# Different output directory
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh --output /tmp/reports
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```
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### Apply Optimizations
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```bash
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# Apply PowerTOP auto-tune
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh --auto-tune
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# Quick system summary
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh --quick
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```
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### View Reports
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```bash
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# Open latest report in browser
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh --show-report
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# List all generated reports
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ls -la ~/.battery-optimizer/reports/
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```
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## Understanding Reports
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### HTML Report Sections
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1. **System Information**
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- Hardware details
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- Kernel version
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- System uptime
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2. **Power Consumption Overview**
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- Total system power draw
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- Battery discharge rate
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- Power source information
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3. **Top Power Consumers**
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- Applications using most power
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- Hardware devices consuming power
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- System services impact
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4. **Processor Information**
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- CPU frequency usage
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- Idle state statistics
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- Core utilization
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5. **Device Power Management**
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- ASPM status
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- Runtime PM status
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- USB autosuspend status
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6. **Tunables**
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- Available optimizations
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- Current status (Good/Bad)
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- Recommended changes
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### Key Metrics to Monitor
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1. **Power Consumption (Watts)**
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- Lower is better
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- Typical laptop: 8-15W idle, 25-45W under load
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2. **Wakeups per Second**
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- Lower is better for battery life
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- Target: <100 wakeups/second
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3. **CPU Usage**
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- Identify power-hungry applications
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- Background processes impact
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## Optimization Categories
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### CPU Optimizations
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```bash
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# CPU governor (applied by TLP)
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echo 'powersave' | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor
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# CPU idle states
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# Managed automatically by kernel
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```
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### Device Power Management
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```bash
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# Enable ASPM (PCIe power saving)
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echo 'powersave' | sudo tee /sys/module/pcie_aspm/parameters/policy
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# Runtime PM for devices
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echo 'auto' | sudo tee /sys/bus/pci/devices/*/power/control
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```
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### USB Power Management
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```bash
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# Enable USB autosuspend
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echo '1' | sudo tee /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspend
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# Per-device control
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echo 'auto' | sudo tee /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/control
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```
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### Audio Power Saving
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```bash
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# Enable audio power saving
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echo '1' | sudo tee /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save
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```
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## Making Optimizations Permanent
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### Method 1: Systemd Service (Recommended)
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Our installation script creates a PowerTOP service:
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```bash
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# Check service status
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systemctl status powertop.service
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# Enable auto-tune on boot
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sudo systemctl enable powertop.service
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# Manually run auto-tune
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sudo systemctl start powertop.service
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```
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### Method 2: Custom Scripts
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Create startup scripts in `/etc/rc.local` or systemd services:
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```bash
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# Example optimization script
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#!/bin/bash
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echo 'auto' > /sys/bus/pci/devices/*/power/control
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echo 'min_power' > /sys/class/scsi_host/*/link_power_management_policy
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```
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### Method 3: TLP Integration
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Most PowerTOP optimizations are already included in our TLP configuration.
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## Troubleshooting
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### Common Issues
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1. **PowerTOP requires root privileges**
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- This is normal for hardware access
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- Always use `sudo powertop`
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2. **No power consumption data**
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- Check if running on battery
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- Ensure ACPI support in kernel
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- Some virtual machines don't report power data
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3. **Optimizations not persisting**
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- Use systemd service for permanent changes
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- Check for conflicting power managers
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### Debug Commands
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```bash
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# Check kernel power management support
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ls /sys/class/power_supply/
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# Verify ACPI tables
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sudo acpidump | head -20
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# Check for power management conflicts
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systemctl list-units | grep power
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```
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## Best Practices
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### Regular Monitoring
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1. **Weekly Reports**: Generate PowerTOP reports to track trends
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2. **Before/After Testing**: Measure impact of configuration changes
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3. **Application Profiling**: Identify power-hungry applications
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### Analysis Workflow
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1. **Baseline Measurement**: Record power consumption before changes
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2. **Apply Optimizations**: Use systematic approach
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3. **Measure Impact**: Generate new reports
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4. **Document Changes**: Keep track of what works
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### Report Interpretation
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1. **Focus on Top Consumers**: Address highest impact items first
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2. **Check Tunables**: Apply "Bad" recommendations carefully
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3. **Monitor Trends**: Look for patterns over time
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4. **Validate Changes**: Ensure functionality isn't compromised
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## Integration with Other Tools
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### With TLP
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PowerTOP and TLP complement each other:
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- TLP: Provides systematic, persistent power management
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- PowerTOP: Offers detailed analysis and additional optimizations
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### With System Monitoring
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```bash
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# Combine with system monitoring
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./scripts/powertop-analyze.sh &
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./scripts/battery-monitor.sh --watch
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```
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### With Performance Tools
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```bash
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# Monitor performance impact
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htop &
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sudo powertop --auto-tune
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# Check if system remains responsive
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```
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## Advanced Usage
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### Automated Analysis
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```bash
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#!/bin/bash
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# Daily power analysis script
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DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
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sudo powertop --html=/var/log/powertop_${DATE}.html --time=3600
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# Email report or upload to monitoring system
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```
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### Custom Reporting
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```bash
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# Extract specific data from CSV reports
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awk -F',' 'NR>1 {print $1,$3}' report.csv | sort -k2 -nr | head -10
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```
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### Integration with Monitoring Systems
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PowerTOP data can be integrated with:
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- Grafana dashboards
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- Nagios monitoring
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- Custom logging systems
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---
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This guide should be used alongside the PowerTOP analysis script provided in this repository for optimal power management.
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