Power Management

How Do I Change the Power Settings On My Apple Computer?



  2. Select "System Preferences."
    1. Computer sleep: 30 minutes
    2. Display sleep: 5-10 minutes
    4. Wake for network access - check
    5. Automatically reduce brightness before display goes to sleep - check

Apple power settings

If you need further assistance, please contact CN.

How Do I Change the Power Settings On My Windows Computer?


By default, OSU Energy Helper is selected.


Windows 7

  2. Click "Control Panel"
  3. Click "Power Options"
  4. Click "Change battery settings"
  5. Select the power profile you desire

Windows XP

  1. Click on "Start"
  2. Go up to "Settings
  3. Click on "Control Panel"
  5. Change the Power Schemes drop down to OSU Energy Saver
  6. Click "OK"
  7. Close the Control Panel window

What Are the Benefits of Using Power Schemes and Power Settings?

Q: How much would this really save the university?



  • Reduced electricity usage.
  • Reduced heat output and air conditioning usage.
  • Smaller environment footprint and carbon emissions.
  • Longer lifespan of equipment.

Q: What about Energy Star Ratings?


What are the CN power schemes and how do they work? How do they affect OSU laptops?

Most modern consumer computer hardware includes components that can detect whether the computer has been idle, and notify the operating system (Windows or MacOS).  In this case, “idle” indicates that there has been no typing on the keyboard or operation of the mouse.  Originally, the purpose of this feature was to extend the battery life of portable computers by reducing their power consumption when not in active use.  These features are now available in nearly all consumer computers.  A power scheme is simply a list of power-saving actions to be taken at specified time thresholds of inactivity. 

To illustrate this, let’s examine the two power schemes CN has implemented.  These two schemes have been named "OSU Energy Saver" and "OSU Energy Helper." Here are the descriptions of those power schemes.

* Note - these power profiles only apply to Windows computers. To configure power settings for an Apple, please click here.

OSU Energy Helper (Default)

  Plugged in On Battery
Turn off Monitor(s) 10 5
Turn off Hard Drive 10 5
Sleep the computer Never Never
Hibernate the computer Never Never

OSU Energy Saver

  Plugged in On Battery
Turn off Monitor(s) 10 5
Turn off Hard Drive 10 5
Sleep the computer 30 20
Hibernate the computer Never Never

The first column describes the energy-saving action to be taken.  The second and third columns list the inactivity threshold (in minutes) which will initiate the action, depending on whether the computer is plugged in or running from battery, respectively.  As you can see, “Saver” profile is more ambitious: it will put the computer into sleep mode (see below) after 30 minutes, whereas the “Helper” profile will not. 

Q: Does this affect my OSU laptop?

A: Yes.  The power settings are identical to desktop computers when you are plugged into power.  When you are running on the battery the settings are slightly different.  In the chart above, see the difference between the Plugged in and On Battery columns.

Because sleep mode offers much greater energy savings, we strongly recommend that you use the “Saver” profile unless there is a specific reason not to do so.




Q: What about Patch Tuesday?




  1. Click Start – Settings – Control Panel
  2. Double Click “Scheduled Tasks”
  3. Double Click on the desired task
  4. Click on the Settings Tab
  6. Click OK


