How to Create Custom Power Plans in Windows 11

A power plan is a set of rules that tells your computer how to use electricity. It manages how your hardware performs and how much energy it saves. Why use a custom plan? Because you might want your computer to run faster when gaming or last longer when you are working on a battery.

In our previous posts, we showed you how to view active power plans and change power plans for your Windows 11 devices.

Windows 11 comes with built-in plans:

• Balanced: The standard setting for most users.
• Power saver: Dims the screen and slows the computer to save battery.
• High Performance: Keeps the screen bright and keeps the computer fast. It uses more power.
• Ultimate Performance: A high-power mode for professional workstations.

When you are done, you will have a personalized setting that perfectly balances speed and power for your specific needs.

How to create a custom power plan

Follow these steps to create your own plan:

1. Click the Start button and search for Control Panel. Open the app.

   

2. Click on Hardware and Sound, then select Power Options.

   

3. On the left side of the window, click Create a power plan. (Note: This action requires admin privileges.)

   

4. Select a base plan to start with. Balanced is usually the best choice. Give your new plan a name in the box provided.

   

5. Click Next. Choose your settings for screen brightness and sleep times.

   

6. Click Create.

   

Your new plan will now appear in your list of available power options. You can use the following command in a terminal to see your current power scheme GUID:

powercfg /list

Summary

Creating a custom power plan allows you to take control of your computer’s energy usage. By following these simple steps, you can switch between performance-heavy modes or battery-saving modes whenever you need to. This helps your device run exactly how you want it to.

Related posts:

How to view your device’s active plan in Windows 11

How to change power plans in Windows 11