new XPS 13 - how do I maximize battery life?

I just bought a new-ish Dell XPS 13 2015 model on ebay.
It is reading a 15 hr battery life (great!) once charged.
I would like the forum's advice on how to maximize the battery life of the unit, and also to get it set up for best user experience.

1) I was told it's better if I don't have battery charge to 100% but rather to cap the max charge to 90%. Does anyone know how to do so? Is there a third party software I should install? I don't see a way to use the control panel settings to limit the charge to 90%.

2) the laptop does not seem to go into sleep mode when the lid is closed. What settings should I check? Such an issue causes the laptop to lose full charge when I pack it away in a hurry to carry and go.

3) Is there anything else I can do to maximize battery life? Is there any smart 3rd party software to give me more working hours? Any settings I should pick other than dimming the screen? Is there a way I can turn off the backlit keyboard to save energy?

4) The Dell ships with Win 8. I don't like Win 8.. Can I install Win 7 and if I did, would I lose out on battery life? I saw that installing Win 10 has a lot of problems, and that Win 7 install seems to have BIOS issues, according to the forums. Or alternatively, if I keep Win 8 is there a way I can get rid of those damn tiles and make the OS at least look and feel like Win 7?

 

powercfg /requests in command prompt (admin)

 

1. Can you download and use Dell command-power manager?

2. That can cause your laptop to overheat and result in permanent damage. Make sure to resolve ASAP

3. control panel>hardware and sound>power options (select power saver).
Also in Dell command-power manager, you might select battery extender. under thermal management selecting quiet might give you more battery life but not sure there...

4. Running Windoze 7 on the XPS takes some effort but there are posts here. There are easier software solutions to make windows 8 look more like windows 7. Search the internet

 

Late to the party, but Dell already has you covered - in the BIOS in the 'Power Management' section, there is a selection for 'Primary Battery Charge Configuration'. There are 4 options - Adaptive, Standard, Primary AC Use, and Custom.

In all selections other than 'Standard', the system will charge your laptop to 90%. If you select 'Standard' the system will charge your laptop to 100%.

You can also select 'Custom' - from there you can use the two 'Custom Charge Start' and 'Custom Charge Stop' settings displayed. Note that you cannot select a value lower than '50' for Custom Charge Start' and the values displayed only apply when you select 'Custom'.

 

refer to my thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...life-on-xps-9550-or-other-xps-laptops.798644/