This is an interesting finding, and powertop is a great tool.
I personally do not care much about power efficiency and use performance profile 100%, but curious to see where the discrepancy is coming from.
here are some suggestions, give it a try (i kept links just in case you’ll want to dig deeper):
Analysis of Power Consumption Issue on Fedora 43 KDE
You’ve encountered a known problem: Fedora KDE consumes approximately twice as much power at idle compared to Ubuntu on the same hardware. This isn’t specifically a Lunar Lake issue, but rather a matter of Fedora/KDE configuration and lack of default optimizations.discussion.fedoraproject
Why This Happens
Main causes of high power consumption:
- PowerTOP not enabled by default — power-saving settings aren’t activated automatically on Fedora. Ubuntu automatically applies optimizations.fedoramagazine
- CPU frequency scaling — On Intel Lunar Lake,
intel_pstate with HWP (Hardware-managed P-States) is used, but settings may be suboptimal.wiki.archlinux
- ASPM (Active State Power Management) — PCIe bus power management may be disabled, adding 1-2W of consumption.frame+1
- Lack of TLP or tuned — Fedora doesn’t have aggressive power-saving settings by default, unlike Ubuntu.reddit
- Background services — KDE and Fedora may have more active background processes consuming resources.discussion.fedoraproject+1
How to Check Where Energy Is Going
1. Install powertop and run diagnostics:
bash
sudo dnf install powertop
sudo powertop --calibrate # ~1 hour calibration
After calibration, run in interactive mode:
bash
sudo powertop
What to check:
- “Frequency stats” tab — CPU should be in high C-states (C8 is deepest)
- “Idle stats” tab — time spent idle
- “Tunables” tab — power-saving settings (red = Bad, green = Good)linuxconfig+1
2. Check CPU frequency scaling driver:
bash
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_driver
On Lunar Lake, it should show intel_pstate. If it shows intel_cpufreq, that’s passive mode.
3. Check ASPM status:
bash
journalctl -b | grep ASPM
It should be enabled. If disabled, add to kernel parameters: pcie_aspm=powersave
4. Review powertop output:
Look at the “Tunables” section for any “Bad” items that can be optimized.redhat+1
Step-by-Step Optimization
Step 1: Basic optimization with powertop
bash
sudo powertop --auto-tune
sudo systemctl enable powertop.service
sudo systemctl start powertop.service
This activates all “Good” settings. Expect 1-2W reduction.fedoramagazine
Step 2: Use TLP (more flexible option)
bash
sudo dnf install tlp
sudo systemctl enable tlp.service
sudo systemctl start tlp.service
Edit /etc/tlp.conf:
bash
PCIE_ASPM_ON_BAT=powersupersave
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave
WIFI_PWR_ON_BAT=on
USB_AUTOSUSPEND=1
This should provide 1-2W savings.reddit+1
Step 3: Enable ASPM in grub
Edit /etc/default/grub:
bash
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="pcie_aspm=powersave"
Then:
bash
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
sudo reboot
Step 4: Use Battery profile in KDE
In KDE power settings, select the “Power Save” profile when on battery. This limits turbo boost and reduces background activity.discussion.fedoraproject
Step 5: Optimize with tuned
Fedora includes tuned for power profiles:
bash
sudo dnf install tuned
sudo systemctl enable tuned
sudo tuned-adm profile powersave
This works well with powertop for comprehensive optimization.discussion.fedoraproject
Lunar Lake Specific Considerations
Several Fedora users on Lunar Lake have achieved 3-4W during light usage using the balanced-battery profile with powertop. On ThinkPad X1 Carbon with 258v, some reached 12+ hours battery life with a 56Wh battery.reddit
Critical note: Lunar Lake only supports s2idle (not S3 deep sleep), which means minor drain during suspend (~1.3%/hour) is normal.discussion.fedoraproject+1
Verifying Results
After all optimizations, run:
bash
sudo powertop --calibrate
sudo powertop # after an hour of data collection
Target result: 2.0-2.5W at idle with screen at 10% brightness, Wi-Fi enabled.
About acpi_osi=“!darwin”
This parameter was needed for old MacBooks. On modern Lunar Lake, it’s not required and may cause issues — don’t add it unless necessary. Lunar Lake initializes correctly with default ACPI settings.kernel+1
Final Recommendation
Start with powertop --auto-tune, then install TLP with ASPM powersupersave, and verify results through powertop. If there’s still a difference under 1W, it may simply be distribution-level differences in background services. In that case, optimize background processes (disable unnecessary systemd services, ensure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi aren’t constantly active in the background).discussion.fedoraproject+3
Assisted-by: Perplexity
