A smart battery charging manager for Windows laptops that helps extend battery lifespan by maintaining charge within optimal State of Charge (SoC) ranges using a Tasmota-compatible smart plug.
Lithium-ion batteries degrade faster when kept at 100% charge or frequently deep-discharged. Research suggests maintaining batteries between 20-80% (or even narrower ranges like 40-60%) can significantly extend their lifespan. Battery Range automates this by controlling your laptop charger through a smart plug.
- Automatic Battery Management - Maintains battery within configurable SoC ranges
- Dual Range Profiles - Normal (35-45%) and High (70-80%) modes for different needs
- One-Time Target - Charge/discharge to a specific target once
- Manual Override - Force charger on/off when needed
- System Tray Integration - Unobtrusive operation with right-click context menu
- Failure Notifications - Alerts you to manually plug/unplug if smart plug is unreachable
- Intelligent Standby Handling - Configurable thresholds to manage charging before sleep
- Wi-Fi Hotspot Management - Optionally manages Windows Mobile Hotspot for smart plug connectivity
- Single Instance - Prevents multiple copies from running simultaneously
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Auto Mode Flowchart │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Check Battery Level (every N seconds) │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Battery ≤ Min% │──Yes──► Turn ON Smart Plug │
│ │ AND discharging? │ │
│ └─────────────────────┘ │
│ │ No │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Battery ≥ Max% │──Yes──► Turn OFF Smart Plug │
│ │ AND charging? │ │
│ └─────────────────────┘ │
│ │ No │
│ ▼ │
│ Do Nothing │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- Windows 10/11
- PowerShell 5.1 or later
- Tasmota-compatible Wi-Fi smart plug (see Devices with Factory Flashed Tasmota)
- Network connectivity between laptop and smart plug (regular Wi-Fi network or Windows Mobile Hotspot)
- Set up your Tasmota smart plug (see Smart Plug Setup)
- Download
Battery-Range.ps1 - Run the script:
.\Battery-Range.ps1 - Right-click the system tray icon to select modes
| Parameter | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-SmartplugIP |
192.168.137.101 | - | IP address of the Tasmota smart plug |
-SmartplugTimeoutSeconds |
2 | 1-5 | Timeout in seconds for smart plug requests |
-SmartplugConnectionMaxAttempts |
10 | 2-50 | Maximum attempts to verify smart plug is reachable |
-SmartplugCommunicationMaxAttempts |
3 | 1-10 | Maximum attempts to send commands to the smart plug |
| Parameter | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-MinBatteryLevel |
35 | 19-99 | Minimum battery % for Auto mode |
-MaxBatteryLevel |
45 | 20-100 | Maximum battery % for Auto mode |
-MinBatteryLevelHigh |
70 | 19-99 | Minimum battery % for Auto High mode |
-MaxBatteryLevelHigh |
80 | 20-100 | Maximum battery % for Auto High mode |
Min values must be less than their corresponding Max values.
| Parameter | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-CheckIntervalSeconds |
30 | 15-300 | How often to check battery status |
-ConfirmationTimeoutSeconds |
5 | 1-10 | Timeout for confirming charging state change |
| Parameter | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-StandbyOnSoCThreshold |
15 | -1 to 30 | Turn ON charger before standby if battery ≤ this % (set to -1 to disable) |
-StandbyOffSoCThreshold |
30 | 20-101 | Turn OFF charger before standby if battery ≥ this % (set to 101 to disable) |
StandbyOnSoCThreshold must be less than StandbyOffSoCThreshold. Battery levels between these thresholds will keep the current charger state.
| Parameter | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-ManageWiFiHotspot |
false | - | Enable automatic Windows Mobile Hotspot management |
-HotspotTimeoutSeconds |
30 | 5-120 | Timeout for activating Windows Mobile Hotspot |
.\Battery-Range.ps1 -SmartplugIP "192.168.1.100" -MinBatteryLevel 40 -MaxBatteryLevel 60.\Battery-Range.ps1 -ManageWiFiHotspot 1 -HotspotTimeoutSeconds 60# Turn on charger if battery ≤ 20%, turn off if battery ≥ 50%
.\Battery-Range.ps1 -StandbyOnSoCThreshold 20 -StandbyOffSoCThreshold 50
# Only turn off charger before standby (disable turn-on behavior)
.\Battery-Range.ps1 -StandbyOnSoCThreshold -1 -StandbyOffSoCThreshold 30
# Only turn on charger before standby (disable turn-off behavior)
.\Battery-Range.ps1 -StandbyOnSoCThreshold 15 -StandbyOffSoCThreshold 101
# Disable standby charger management entirely
.\Battery-Range.ps1 -StandbyOnSoCThreshold -1 -StandbyOffSoCThreshold 101| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto | Maintains battery between MinBatteryLevel and MaxBatteryLevel (default: 35-45%) |
| Auto High | Maintains battery between MinBatteryLevelHigh and MaxBatteryLevelHigh (default: 70-80%) |
| To X% Once... | Brings the battery to a specific target and then returns to the previous mode |
| Charger On | Forces charger on continuously (useful before travel) |
| Charger Off | Forces charger off continuously |
The tray icon provides at-a-glance status:
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Number | Current battery percentage |
| Text color: Green | Laptop is on AC power |
| Text color: White | Laptop is on battery |
| Border: Blue | Auto mode |
| Border: Magenta | Auto High mode |
| Border: Gold | To X% Once mode |
| Border: Green | Charger On mode |
| Border: Orange | Charger Off mode |
Battery Range intelligently handles system sleep with two configurable thresholds:
- Before Standby:
- If battery ≤
StandbyOnSoCThreshold(default: 15%), charger turns ON to prevent deep discharge - If battery ≥
StandbyOffSoCThreshold(default: 30%), charger turns OFF to prevent overcharging - If battery is between thresholds, charger state is unchanged
- If battery ≤
- On Resume: Battery check timer restarts immediately, and if Wi-Fi Hotspot management is enabled, the hotspot is re-activated
This is useful for scenarios like closing your laptop overnight → the battery won't overcharge if it's high, and won't deep discharge if it's low.
For portable setups where the smart plug connects directly to your laptop's Mobile Hotspot:
- Enable with
-ManageWiFiHotspot 1 - The script will automatically start the Windows Mobile Hotspot on launch
- On resume from standby, the hotspot is re-activated and smart plug connectivity is verified
This feature is ideal when you don't have a shared Wi-Fi network available (e.g., traveling).
- Press
Win + R, typeshell:startup, press Enter - Create a shortcut to run the script:
- Right-click → New → Shortcut
- Target:
powershell -WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "[path to the script]\Battery-Range.ps1 [custom parameters]" - Name:
Battery-Range
- On Exit: The script automatically turns the charger ON when exiting to prevent accidental battery drain
- On Standby: Charger is turned ON if battery is low, OFF if battery is high (based on configurable thresholds)
- On Resume: Timer restarts immediately; Wi-Fi Hotspot is re-activated if managed
- Power Outages: If the smart plug loses power, it will restore its previous state when power returns (default Tasmota behavior)
- Plug Failures: If the smart plug is unreachable, a Windows notification prompts manual action
- Wiring Issues: If the battery charging status is inconsistent with the smart plug status, a notification prompts the user to check the charger connection
If your smart plug doesn't already have Tasmota, you'll need to flash it. See the Tasmota documentation for device-specific instructions.
If you're using your laptop's Mobile Hotspot to connect the smart plug (useful for portable setups), configure a static IP on the plug:
- Connect to your Tasmota plug's web interface
- Go to Console
- Enter the following command:
Backlog IPAddress1 192.168.137.101; IPAddress2 192.168.137.1; IPAddress3 255.255.255.0; IPAddress4 192.168.137.1; Restart 1
This sets:
- IPAddress1: Static IP for the plug (
192.168.137.101) - IPAddress2: Gateway (Windows hotspot is always
192.168.137.1) - IPAddress3: Subnet mask (
255.255.255.0) - IPAddress4: DNS server (using the gateway)
The plug will restart with the new network settings.
For a regular home network, use your router's DHCP reservation feature to assign a static IP, or configure via Tasmota console:
Backlog IPAddress1 192.168.1.101; IPAddress2 192.168.1.1; IPAddress3 255.255.255.0; IPAddress4 192.168.1.1; Restart 1
Adjust the IP addresses to match your network configuration.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Script won't start | Ensure execution policy allows scripts: Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned |
| Can't connect to plug | Verify IP address and that laptop and plug are on same network |
| Notifications not appearing | Check Windows notification settings for PowerShell |
| Battery not detected | Ensure running on a laptop with battery installed |
| Hotspot won't start | Ensure Wi-Fi adapter supports hosted networks and no other app is using it |
| "Already running" message | Check system tray for existing instance or restart explorer.exe |
MIT License - See LICENSE for details.
Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request.
- Tasmota - Open source firmware for ESP8266/ESP32 devices