• Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Topic: Battery consumption rate & powertop

So I am not sure if this is the correct place but here it goes...

I use Debian testing in a netbook,all crunsified. I have implemented various scripts from pm-utils as well as the one suggested by hardran http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/topic … or-debian/.

I am trying to monitor my current battery consumption in watts, but I dont see it anywhere in powertop. Does powertop report battery consumption?
I have calibrated powertop when I first used it.

If powertop does not offer this functionality, is there another application which does?

Thanks people

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • Registered: 2011-05-02
  • Posts: 1,069

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

You must be running on battery power for powertop to get the machine's current watt usage.

This link may be helpful

http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/

Vansgo's Website

  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

Well thank you for your reply, I do run on battery but still I don't get any reading. I ve visited their site as well.
My version of powertop is 1.97.

Any ideas??

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • Registered: 2011-05-02
  • Posts: 1,069

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

I have version 1.11-1 installed and when I run from terminal the readout/results shows this line about half way down the page.


Power usage (ACPI estimate): 8.7W (6.8 hours)

Vansgo's Website

  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

Ok so I just realised something else, maybe I am wrong and I dont see the obvious but I found a second powertop site
http://www.linuxpowertop.org/index.php
According to there, powerTOP latest version is 1.8, further more they refer to it as powerTOP and not powertop.
I also realised that when firing the application on top is says powerTOP, but dpkg-l and apt-cache show report the application as powertop....

In the lesswatts site
http://www.lesswatts.org/
latest version is 1.11

In my testing box I get

05:19 PM$ apt-cache policy powertop
powertop:
  Installed: 1.97-2
  Candidate: 1.97-2
  Version table:
 *** 1.97-2 0
        300 http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

I dont know if all this make sense but it looks to me that there are two applications?? Am I wrong?

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • Registered: 2011-05-02
  • Posts: 1,069

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

the link you provided: http://www.linuxpowertop.org/index.php is the same basic display I get, except the version is 1.11-1 I installed from from #! repos?

Vansgo's Website

  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

Well dont know what is going on.
I did the following:
1) Removed powertop
2) Left only the #! repos uncommented --> update & install powertop, there is no powertop package in #! repos.
3) Dowloaded from the linuxpowertop.site the package and installed it its the same package I had before, no battery consumption functionality.
4) Removed the d/led package
5) Uncommented all repos & commented the #! --> update & install powertop, so know I am back to the debian powertop package version 1.97...

Anyhow I know the solution will come in a while on its own....Thanks for you time...

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • Registered: 2011-05-02
  • Posts: 1,069

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

here's the scoop smile showpkg verifies version and source - hope this helps

~$ apt-cache showpkg powertop
Package: powertop
Versions:
1.11-1 (/var/lib/apt/lists/ftp.de.debian.org_debian_dists_squeeze_main_binary-i386_Packages) (/var/lib/dpkg/status)
Description Language:
                 File: /var/lib/apt/lists/ftp.de.debian.org_debian_dists_squeeze_main_binary-i386_Packages
                  MD5: 90c5d5a996dbde0e23a413a6aedf18a6


Reverse Depends:
  education-laptop,powertop
Dependencies:
1.11-1 - libc6 (2 2.7-1) libncursesw5 (2 5.6+20071006-3) cpufrequtils (0 (null)) laptop-mode-tools (0 (null))
Provides:
1.11-1 -
Reverse Provides:

Vansgo's Website

  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

So problem has not yet been resolved, to be honest havent worked on it alot.
Thanks for the added input, I 'll try showpkg when I get back later today to the box and see what I can get out of it.

I ll get back to you!!

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

I know I am slow but I think after all I am not in a great need to find the consumption rate currently.
Still though I am in a way stuck in version 1.97.

Man thanks for your time...

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.
  • ej64
  • #! Member
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  • From: somewhere in Germany
  • Registered: 2010-09-24
  • Posts: 63

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

try "acpi -V" for battery readout. Or have a look at 

cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state

The latter shows current (mA) and voltage (mV or V), multiply then to get power consuption (mA * mV /1000 = mW)

Thinkpad X220 with 1.gen Samsung SSD on #! Statler XFCE (unstable repos)
  • Registered: 2012-01-11
  • Posts: 30

Re: Battery consumption rate & powertop

Hi,

Thank for your advice, output from acpi -V

Battery 0: Discharging, 20%, 00:48:34 remaining
Battery 0: design capacity 5988 mAh, last full capacity 5619 mAh = 93%
Adapter 0: off-line
Thermal 0: ok, 52.0 degrees C
Thermal 0: trip point 0 switches to mode critical at temperature 93.0 degrees C
Thermal 0: trip point 1 switches to mode passive at temperature 84.0 degrees C
Cooling 0: Processor 0 of 10
Cooling 1: Processor 0 of 10
Cooling 2: Processor 0 of 10
Cooling 3: Processor 0 of 10

Furthermore state in /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0 does not exist.
To my knowledge after acpi been deprecated it has been moved in /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0, but there is no file showing current consumption rate there.

If you break it, you get to keep all pieces.