Flash & Battery Performance

[MacMur]

I know that Flash uses more battery power. However is that only when you are actually using a window that needs Flash. Does just installing it decrease your battery performance in any way? I am running into lots of sites that require Flash and I would like to install it but not at the risk of severely limiting my battery usage when not actually using it.

I searched for this topic but didn't come up with a good answer.

Thanks for your input

 

[aristobrat]

Flash only decreases battery life when running. Simply being installed doesn't lower battery life.

 

[MacMur]

Flash only decreases battery life when running. Simply being installed doesn't lower battery life.

I suspected as much but just wanted to be sure. I understand that Adobe is working on one that is a little more MBA friendly.

Thanks

 

[gwsat]

Flash enabled sites, particularly those that stream video, such as Hulu and Netflix, can be battery killers. When I am doing email exchanges and non-Flash Web surfing my 13 inch MBA's battery will easily last 6 or 7 hours and if I use it only off and on during the day, the MBA will last all day and well into the evening. When I am using Flash sites and streaming video, though, the battery lasts no more than 4 hours. My grandson has a 13 inch MBP and even his 10 hour rated battery gives him only about 4 hours when he is streaming video.

I have installed both the FlashBlock and AdBlock extensions for Chrome on my MBA. As a consequence, Flash never loads into memory until and unless I tell it to do so. When you use such utilities, unless you actually need to use Flash somewhere, it isn't hurting your battery life.