Determining which processes are using energy when your Mac is in sleep mode can be a bit challenging, as sleep mode is designed to minimize energy usage. However, there are a few steps you can take to investigate:

  1. Check Energy Usage in Activity Monitor:
    • Open Activity Monitor from your Applications > Utilities folder.
    • Click on the Energy tab to see a list of processes and their energy impact.
    • Look for any process with unusually high energy usage. However, this method is more effective when the Mac is awake, as it may not show processes specifically acting during sleep mode.
  2. Examine System Logs:
    • Open Console from Applications > Utilities.
    • Check system logs for entries around the time your Mac enters or exits sleep mode. Look for any anomalies or processes that might be waking your Mac or using resources.
  3. Use Terminal Commands:
    • Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities.
    • Use the pmset -g log command to view power management logs. This can show you events that are causing your Mac to wake up from sleep.
    • The top command can be used to display running processes and their energy usage, but again, this is more effective when the Mac is not in sleep mode.
  4. Check for Power Nap Activity:
    • If your Mac supports Power Nap, it can perform certain tasks while in sleep mode, like checking email or making backups.
    • Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver (or Battery) to see if Power Nap is enabled and consider if this feature might be responsible for any energy use during sleep.
  5. Monitor Network Activity:
    • Network activity can sometimes wake your Mac or keep it from entering a deeper sleep state. Use Network Utility or other network monitoring tools to check for unexpected activity.
  6. Update Your Software:
    • Sometimes, energy usage issues can be related to software that needs updating. Make sure your macOS and all applications are up to date.
  7. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC):
    • If you’re experiencing unusual energy usage and nothing else seems to work, resetting the SMC can help. This is a last resort as it resets many low-level settings on your Mac.

Remember, diagnosing energy usage during sleep mode can be difficult because sleep mode is specifically designed to reduce energy consumption to a minimum. If you’re noticing significant battery drain while your Mac is asleep, it might be worth checking if any peripherals are connected that could be drawing power or if there’s an issue with the battery itself.

Notes:

from ChatGPT