Okay this seems very silly but i feel like Ubuntu is just destroying the battery of my PC. It started about an year ago when i switched to Ubuntu, within 1-2 months the battery died. It was working fine for past 1.5 year. I thought it was my mistake because i kept my charger on for most of the time so i bought a new one. 6 months fast forward, battery is about to die again, receiving a backup of about 30-45 minutes on battery. Please tell me Ubuntu isn't the reason.
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2Possible duplicate of Why does my computer get less battery life with Ubuntu compared to Windows? – Anwar Nov 14 '16 at 13:00
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What is the question actually? – Anwar Nov 14 '16 at 13:00
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Is ubuntu destroying battery life of my PC? – Jatin Katyal Nov 14 '16 at 13:01
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Yes. Linux uses more battery than Windows, if that is what you wanted to know – Anwar Nov 14 '16 at 13:02
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I mean the battery is almost dead, i bought it like 6 months ago and within a week or 2 it won't be working at all. So is it because of Ubuntu? – Jatin Katyal Nov 14 '16 at 13:03
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@Anwar That is debatable. Out-of-the-box, yes, Ubuntu generally uses more power. However, with the correct optimizations, Ubuntu can use far less power. – negusp Nov 14 '16 at 13:21
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@PatrickNegus Then this question should not be here. It's a duplicate + primarily opinion based – Anwar Nov 14 '16 at 13:28
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@Anwar true, but the core issue is with the quality of the battery, not Ubunut. I will edit the question to explain. – negusp Nov 14 '16 at 13:29
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@PatrickNegus There is no information about the battery used + the original one died also fairly quickly and it was also within OP's concern – Anwar Nov 14 '16 at 13:31
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@MarkKirby I'm performing tests on my laptop currently, and taking the answer off temporarily (CPU consumed by explorer.exe/Unity while browsing over a certain period via FireFox). I'm fairly interested in the results myself. – negusp Nov 14 '16 at 18:26
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@PatrickNegus OK, if you bring it back, with a focus on performance, tag me in comments and I will vote it up. – Mark Kirby Nov 14 '16 at 18:28
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That sounds like a poor battery from the manufacturer, not Ubuntu. Ubuntu shouldn't reduce the life of your battery that quickly- however, the lifetime of your battery is dependent on
- the temperature you keep it in
- number of charge cycles (complete drain and recharge)
- preventing overcharge (not repeatedly taking your battery/computer off the charger for a short period, and then charging it up completely)
However, all of these factors should not destroy your battery within the period of 6 months. Because you probably bought it from a 3rd-party supplier, I question the validity/quality of the battery you purchased. I advice you contact the manufacturer for a replacement.
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Hey, just noticed this whole power and battery thing in Ubuntu is quite a mess. I have been watching my battery percentage and time remaining(7% 4min remaining). This didn't change for next 20 minutes. After that time reduced by 1 minute while percentage is still same, 10 minutes more spent still 3 minutes remaining in timer. – Jatin Katyal Nov 14 '16 at 15:31
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@JatinKatyal It's actually very possible your battery/battery monitoring software needs calibrating. See here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/481997/laptop-battery-always-discharging – negusp Nov 14 '16 at 15:44
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Followed some complete charge and discharge cycles and now timer is showing aprox 2 hrs. – Jatin Katyal Nov 14 '16 at 17:04
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It is not possible for an Operating System to destroy the battery of a laptop. Every battery has a specific number of cycles (discharging and then charging) through which it can go before it gets dead. Ubuntu and Linux in general, uses more battery than Windows. This can cause a notable difference if you use the laptop mostly on batteries. If it is so, then the battery will die out earlier if you use Linux as compared to Windows because you will have to go through more cycles for same duration. However, the difference won't be more than a month or two though individual mileage may vary.
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