The laptop keyboard LED backlight has a huge impact on how long your laptop battery will last on a single charge as well as long-term.
There are many questions about keyboard backlights and laptop batteries, so I’ve gathered some of the most common ones here with answers.
How Much Does The Keyboard Backlight Use
Laptop keyboard LED lights are notoriously known for draining laptop batteries quickly. Each laptop brand and features like the backlighting of the keyboard will determine how much energy the keyboard backlight use.
As a general guide, keyboard backlights use 5-30% of the computer’s power battery. According to battery longevity research and testing, the standard keyboard LED backlight can use anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of your battery’s capacity, depending on the make and model of your laptop.
If the keyboard backlight is always on, it can drain your battery in 2 to 6 hours. When not in use, most laptop keyboards turn off the LED light when the computer goes into sleep mode or turns off completely. However, some laptops don’t have an automatic shut-off mechanism for this.
The more LEDs your keyboard has, the more power it will use. For example, a laptop with backlighting that has three LEDs uses about 10 percent of your battery’s capacity, while one with six LEDs can use up to 30 percent.
Can I Turn Off My Keyboard Backlight
As LED lights can drain laptop battery, the best option is considering to turn off your keyboard LED backlight. But, can you actually turn off the keyboard’s LED backlight?
As a general guide, you can disable the keyboard backlight of your laptop. Disabling LED backlights of your computer is the best way to save battery. However, the process to disable keyboard backlight varies by laptop.
How much power does a backlit keyboard use?
Fancy LED lights on your laptop can be deceivingly power hungry, using a surprising 5 to 30% of your battery life. If you are not careful, this can lead to significantly shorter battery life spans. You can disable the backlight on most laptops, but the process varies.
As a general guide, an idle laptop with the backlight turned off uses between 6-9.5 W while the laptop that has its backlights turned on it uses around 9’5-11W.
The keyboard backlight is a small light located above or below your computer keyboard that illuminates the keycaps in low-light conditions. It is also known as an
How long will my laptop battery last with the keyboard backlight off?
Your laptop’s battery life can be extended by turning off the keyboard backlight. Depending on your make and model, disabling the LED backlight can add an hour or more to your battery life.
For example, disabling the backlight on a Dell Inspiron 1545 can add 1 hour and 20 minutes to your battery life, while disabling the backlight on an HP Pavilion dv6 can add 2 hours and 10 minutes.
If you are looking to save as much battery as possible, turning off your keyboard backlight is one of the best ways to do it.
There you have it – some of the most common questions and answers about laptop keyboard LED backlights and battery life. By disabling your LED backlight, you can add an hour or more to your battery life span. So remember, when your laptop is not in use, turn off that pesky keyboard backlight!
Is a backlit keyboard good?
When it comes to backlight keyboards, there’s no shortage of benefits you can get from a backlit keyboard. For instance:
- You can use your laptop in total darkness.
- Some designs allow you to change the color and intensity of the lights; you can even set custom lighting patterns.
- They’re easy on your eyes, which is a great benefit if you commonly work in low-light environments or at night.
But despite all the benefits, LED-backlit keyboards come with their own set of drawbacks. For instance:
- The batteries used to power the lights can drain quickly if it’s left on for too long.
- If you’re using your laptop in a bright environment, the light might be distracting and annoying.
Nonetheless, a backlit keyboard is an important function on a laptop because of a laptop’s mobile nature. If you choose to use your laptop outside of an office environment, you might unexpectedly lose access to light, which may render the backlight necessary.
Does lowering brightness save battery laptop?
Changing the computer’s display Settings System power usage is a major component of prolonging a laptop’s battery life. There are various ways to change these settings, and nearly all laptops offer a way to save power when it comes to the monitor.
In general, lowering the keyboard backlight and the screen monitor’s brightness saves the laptop’s battery. One way is reducing the brightness of the laptop screen and turning the keyboard backlight when you least need it.
This can be done by using the keyboard shortcut “F11” or going into your Control Panel and selecting Appearance and Personalization. From there, you’ll be able to select Screen Resolution and then choose a lower screen brightness.
The other key to prolonging the battery’s life is reducing the laptop’s power usage. If you’re not planning on using your laptop for more than two hours, you should shut it down instead of putting it into Sleep Mode or Hibernation mode; this will save your battery longer.
Keyboard backlighting and other features can be disabled to help extend battery life. Using a dark theme and a black background might help you get more out of your battery.
Why does brightness use so much battery?
If you are using a lot of computer features, it will have an impact on your battery life’s longevity. Features like keyboard backlight, screen brightness, and your wifi connection dongles all use battery.
In general, a bright screen and backlight keyboard use a lot of the laptop’s battery because they are very power-hungry. You can prolong your battery’s life by turning them off when you aren’t using them.
Most laptops that have LED keyboards have a knob or button that allows you to control keyboard backlight settings. For example, HP Pavilion dv6/As the type of screen brightness you choose affects your battery life, the difference between using a screen that’s at 70% brightness and 100% brightness can be as much as 50%.
The amount of power your laptop uses is determined by how you use it. This means changing settings like keyboard backlight, display monitor color, and location, and sleep mode will help extend the battery life.
A laptop’s battery. If your screen is brighter, it will take more power to show the correct colors and images to you. This can significantly affect your laptop’s battery life, depending on how bright you set your computer’s display settings.
Lowering your screen brightness settings If your screen’s brightness slider is cranked up much further than halfway or so, you’re probably draining your battery a lot faster than you need to. If it’s cranked up much further than halfway or so, you’re probably draining your battery a lot faster than you need to.
Does keyboard brightness affect battery performance on Mac Computers?
As a general guide, keyboard brightness and screen brightness on a Macbook computer or on a Windows laptop affect the performance of the computer.
On a MacBook, it will have little to no impact on battery life. Nonetheless, something as simple as reducing screen brightness, switching off the backlight keyboard when not in use may have a considerably more significant impact. However, if it is an issue for you, there should be an option to turn it off on your computer model.
Does an external keyboard affect battery life?
Adding an external keyboard to your laptop can be an easy way to increase your typing speed and comfort, but doing so can also decrease your laptop’s battery life.
When an external keyboard is attached to a laptop, the laptop’s own internal keyboard will no longer be used, which means that the backlight for the internal keyboard will draw power when turned on from the laptop.
Unless you are using the backlight wireless keyboard, all wired keyboards get their power from the laptop, so it is a drain on the battery.
If you want to decrease battery consumption, on some laptop models you can shut off the backlight keyboard by holding down the Fn key and pressing either F8 or F9. If you are using an external keyboard, your laptop’s internal one will not be turned on.
Does Bluetooth use up battery life even when not being used?
Using an external wireless Bluetooth keyboard does not use up the computer’s battery. Bluetooth keyboards are designed to work with their own batteries which means they do not affect a laptop’s battery life.
It will consume the same amount of battery it would when you use the inbuilt keyboard and mice. It is also not necessary that you disconnect the external devices to save the battery.
Does the mechanical keyboard drain the battery?
In general mechanical keyboards do not drain batteries. However, they will draw power from the laptop to power up other features like keyboard LED backlight when it is turned on. Generally, all computer keyboards come with built-in features that sometimes draw a lot of power when turned on.
Disconnecting such keyboard features from time to time helps preserve the laptop’s battery life, but most of the time a mechanical keyboard will not drain the battery or become a big problem for you.
Do all laptop keyboards light up?
While most computer keyboards come with hidden features, not all of them come with backlight features. A high-quality standard keyboard can have a lot of different functions, which are not all backlit.
All computer keyboards that are sold with laptops will have some form or another of lighting feature, however, sometimes this is only the print on the keys being lit up and not actually the keypad itself. Overall, not all keyboards light up with fancy LED keyboard lights.
Some manufacturers offer backlit keyboard features as a premium while on their lower-end laptops such features are not present, or only include them as an extra-cost option. If your keyboard won’t light up, see whether the manufacturer allows for an illuminated keyboard.
How do I know if my keyboard has a backlight?
When you need a keyboard with backlighting, the best way is to go looking for one with such features. However, if you already own an old keyboard, the easiest way to tell whether your PC has a backlit keyboard is to check for the F10, F6, or right arrow key (in the lower right-hand corner). If none of these keys have the illumination icon printed on it, your computer does not have a backlit keyboard.
How much does brightness affect the battery?
To see how much does the brightness of your LED keyboard backlights or monitor screen brightness affects the longevity of the computer battery, you need to test and gather data about how much energy is consumed with varying screen brightness. In a recent test, an hour-long test found that a backlight keyboard and bright screen of a laptop used 54% less battery power with the screen brightness at minimum as compared with maximum brightness. A Macbook used 30% less battery with the keyboard backlight off.
That being said, if you’re someone who likes to work in environments with a lot of light, you might want to have your screen brightness turned up high. Just keep in mind that doing this will affect how long your battery will last.
If you’re looking to save your battery, turning down the brightness on your screen and keyboard backlight is always a good place to start.
How long will a laptop battery last?
As a general guide, a laptop battery lasts between 4-6 hours on average. The amount of battery energy used for each laptop will be dependant on variant factors including screen brightness, CPU use, hard drive usage, and wireless connectivity.
However, the overall life of a laptop battery can be affected by its owner’s behavior. Leaving your computer plugged in when you’re not using it will cause the battery to wear out over time because it is constantly being charged up. If you are using your laptop for long periods of time, it’s best to unplug the power cord and give the battery a break so that it doesn’t lose its overall charge.
On the other hand, if you’re someone who does not use your laptop very often, you can probably leave it plugged in without having to worry about your battery life.
In general, following some simple tips can help preserve your laptop battery and extend its lifespan:
- Reduce screen brightness
- Turn off the keyboard LED backlight when not in use.
- Unplug the power cord when not in use
- Use a power management tool to regulate energy consumption
- Avoid gaming or watching movies when the battery is low
- Allow the battery to fully discharge every few months
- Use the original charger that came with your laptop
- Store your laptop in a cool, dry place
Overall, the question about how long a laptop battery lasts is difficult to answer because it largely depends on the type of laptop, how often it’s used, and the settings that are in use when it’s being used. However, with proper care, most laptop batteries should last for at least two years with a battery charge lasting between 4-6 hours of use.
So, there you have it: everything you need to know about keyboard backlights and laptop batteries. By following some simple tips, you can help preserve your battery and extend its lifespan. Keep in mind that how long a battery lasts will vary depending on the individual.
If you are looking to extend your laptop’s battery life, you should try lowering the screen brightness as much as possible and turning off features like sleep mode and Bluetooth. Reducing internal power usage can significantly prolong the life of your laptop’s battery.
