Guide to Dell Power Manager

Dell Power Manager provides detailed information about your PC’s battery, including:

• Whether your system is plugged in or using battery power
• Percentage of your system’s total battery power remaining
• Peak Shift and Battery Extender status, if applicable
• Battery Health
• Battery Charge Status
• Battery Settings
• Battery type (Standard, Extended Warranty, or Enhanced)
• Connection (Primary, Battery Slice, or Modular Bay)
• Manufacturer
• Dell battery (Yes or No)
• Serial number
• PPID (Piece Part ID)
  Note: PPID of the battery may not always display.

Battery health

Battery health indicates the amount of charge that is available to a system. In general, a battery’s health decreases over time at a rate that depends on how often the battery is used and the conditions under which it is used.

Battery Health is indicated using the heart icon followed by a set of four circular icons. The number of circular icons that are filled indicates the battery health.

Note: Battery health information is available only if a Dell battery is attached to your PC.

Code	Description
	Excellent — Battery is operating at maximum capacity.
	Good — Battery can charge normally; however, you may notice reduced operating time because long-term battery life is decreasing.
	Fair — Battery can charge normally; however, it is near the end of its usable life. It is recommended that you purchase a new battery soon.
	Poor — Battery no longer provides sufficient power. It is recommended that you replace this battery.
	Battery no longer operates, or battery status cannot be determined. It is recommended that you replace the battery.

Battery charge status

You can view a battery’s charge status quickly by referring to the battery charge status indicator codes displayed beside the battery number on the Battery Information screen.

Note: Battery charge status information is available only if a Dell battery is attached to your PC.

Code	Power Remaining
	80-100 percent
	60-79 percent
	40-59 percent
	20-39 percent
	0-19 percent

Battery Settings

Dell Power Manager allows you to select a Battery Setting that is optimized for specific system usage patterns. For example, some settings focus on extending battery life, while others provide fast charge times. Available settings may be limited, depending on the battery. Possible battery settings include:

• Standard - Fully charges the battery at a moderate rate. This setting provides a balanced approach to extending battery life while still providing a reasonably fast charging time. Recommended for users who frequently switch between battery and external power sources.
• ExpressCharge™ - Quickly charges the battery using Dell fast-charge technology. Recommended for users who need the battery to charge quickly. If the system is powered off, then the battery typically charges to 80 percent within one hour and 100 percent in two hours. Charge time may be longer if the system is powered on.
• Primarily AC Use - Extends battery life by lowering the charge threshold, so that the battery never charges to 100 percent capacity. Recommended for users who primarily operate the system while plugged into an external power source.
• Adaptive - Automatically optimizes battery settings based on the user's typical patterns. Recommended for users who want to "set it and forget it."
• Custom - User selects when the battery starts and stops charging. Recommended for advanced users.

Advanced Charge is an optional feature that prolongs the usable life of a system’s batteries by charging them to full capacity only once per day, prior to the Start of day you establish when you Enable Advanced Charge. For the remainder of the day, Advanced Charge keeps batteries in a lower charge state that is better for storage, even when the system is plugged into a direct power source.

Note: If the hours assigned to Peak Shift and Advanced Charge overlap, then Peak Shift takes priority. Batteries will not charge during Peak Shift hours.

Enabling Advanced Charge

Advanced Charge is not enabled by default. When Advanced Charge is enabled, the feature applies to all batteries in the PC, and individual battery configuration is disabled.

1. Click the Advanced Charge tab in the left pane.
2. To enable Advanced Charge, click the Toggle at the top of the page to the On position.
   
3. Click the toggle for each day of the week to enable or disable Advanced Charge for each day.
4. To set the times of day when Advanced Charge is active and inactive, click Settings.
5. In the Time Settings screen, click a day of the week. In the main portion of the page, you can use either the circular slider or the drop-down menus to set the time.
   
6. Select the Copy the same settings to multiple days check box. In the left pane, select the days to which these settings apply.
7. Click OK to save your settings, or click CANCEL to discard them.

Peak Shift is an optional feature that reduces power consumption by automatically switching the system to battery power during certain times of the day, even if the system is plugged into a direct power source. After Peak Shift begins, the system will run on battery power until the combined charge level of all batteries reaches a minimum threshold. See Enabling Peak Shift for instructions on how to change these settings. Then, if the system is plugged in, it is powered by the direct power source; however, the battery will not charge until the Peak Shift ends.

Note: If the hours assigned to Peak Shift and Advanced Charge overlap, then Peak Shift takes priority. Batteries will not charge during Peak Shift hours.

Enabling Peak Shift

1. Click the Peak Shift tab in the left pane.
2. To enable Peak Shift, click the Toggle at the top of the page to the On position.
3. To select the percentage at which the system will Restore AC power if available system charge falls below, move the slider. For example, selecting 15 percent causes the system to switch from battery to AC power during Peak Shift if the power remaining falls below 15 percent.
4. To enable or disable Peak Shift for a specific day, click the toggle next to each day of the week.
5. To set the time of day when Peak Shift is active, click Settings.
6. On the Time Settings screen, click a day of the week. Using either the circular slider or the drop-down menus:
   1. To save your changes, click OK, or to discard them, click CANCEL.
   2. Set a time at which the system begins to operate only on AC power without charging the battery: Select the Operate on AC power without charging battery check box, then select the time that you want the system to start operating on AC power without charging the battery.
   3. End Peak Shift: Select the time you want Peak Shift to end.
7. Select Copy the same settings to multiple days. Then, in the left pane, select the days to which these settings apply.
8. To save your changes, click OK, or to discard them, click CANCEL.

Dell Power Manager allows you to manage your system’s processor and cooling fan settings so that you can manage performance, system surface temperature, and fan noise. Each option represents a different balance of these three elements. Choose the configuration that best suits the way you use your system.

Note: If your system does not support thermal settings, then the Thermal Management feature is not available.

Caution: If any of the fans in the PC fails, the Thermal Management feature is disabled.

Changing Thermal Management Settings

To change the Thermal Management setting:

1. Click the Thermal Management tab in the left pane.
2. Click the radio button beside the Thermal Management setting you want to select.

Dell Power Manager's Battery Extender feature allows you to conserve battery charge.

• Reduce CPU power level
• Screen brightness level
• Keyboard illumination level
• Mute audio

Note: If your system does not support Reduce CPU Power (Quiet Thermal Setting), then the Battery Extender feature is not available.

Note: Battery Extender only reports setting changes you make within the Battery Extender feature. Changes you make within the BIOS and operating system settings that affect battery charge consumption are not reflected within Battery Extender.

Note: Battery Extender cannot be turned on when you have plugged the system into an electrical outlet.

Extending Battery Charge

Dell Power Manager's Battery Extender feature allows you to change the settings of some system functions that affect your system's battery consumption. To access Battery Extender:

1. Click the Battery Extender tab in the left pane.
2. Click the Settings button.
3. Click in the box beside the feature you want to affect, and where available, slide the slider or enter a percentage number to adjust the level of change you want to apply.
4. Click OK to apply your changes, or click CANCEL to discard your changes.
5. Click the toggle to the On position

To restore any settings you have changed using Battery Extender, click Restore Defaults.

The Alert Settings feature in Dell Power Manager allows you to restore the default alert settings. Dell Power Manager supports the following types of alerts:

• Adapter Alerts
• Battery Alerts
• Docking Station Alerts
• Other Alerts
• Thermal Alerts

Restoring Alert Defaults

1. Click the Alerts Settings tab in the left pane.
2. Click on the Restore Alert Settings button. This feature restores the display of an alert, if you previously clicked the Do not display this message again.
   
3. A confirmation dialog window pops up displaying the message Are you sure you want to restore all alert settings?
4. Click Yes to continue or Cancel to abort.