Windows 11 build 25231, which, by the time of writing this article, is the latest update in the Dev Channel, has quite a large chunk of hidden features. Users recently discovered several redesigned dialogs in the Settings app and a new search box for Task Manager. Now we know about a brand-new section coming soon to the Settings app—Energy Recommendations.
The Energy Recommendations section sits under Settings > System > Power. It is a page where Windows 11 shows how to lower your carbon footprint and make a PC more energy efficient by letting it turn off the screen and go to sleep faster, setting the power mode for best efficiency, disabling a screen saver, and turning on dark mode. There is also a sort of green score that increases as you go through the "checklist."
Another neat change is the button that lets you make your computer "greener" with a single click. If you are okay with energy recommendations and do not want to change settings manually, click the "Apply All" button for Windows 11 to do the job for you. Finally, there is a link to a support article describing energy efficiency mode in Microsoft Edge and a "Learn more" link leading to the official Microsoft website.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first attempt to make Windows 11 more eco-friendly. The operating system shows warnings about increased carbon emissions when you change the screen and sleep timers, plus it tries to install available updates when more green energy is available in the grid.
Although these changes may not look groundbreaking, even small efficiency improvements make a difference when applied to a market with more than 1.2 billion devices. Too bad, it seems for Microsoft, that people are not rushing to update their systems to Windows 11.
If you want to test the new energy recommendations section, here is how to enable it using the ViveTool app.
Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before using the ViveTool app and enabling hidden options. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.
How to enable Energy Recommendations section in Windows 11 build 25231 and builds 22621.885 & 22623.885?
- Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
- Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
- Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.
- Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
- Enter vivetool /enable /id:39427030 and press Enter.
- Enter vivetool /enable /id:41249924 and press Enter.
- Restart your computer.
- Open Settings and go to System > Power > Energy Recommendations.
If you change your mind and want to disable the new Settings section, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.
Kudos to @PhantomOfEarth for sharing their findings!