diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/preload.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/preload.ts
index 8822efd2a99..8fb6d97c3fa 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/preload.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/preload.ts
@@ -275,6 +275,14 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('hermesDesktop', {
 
     return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener('hermes:power-resume', listener)
   },
+  // AC ↔ battery transitions; renderers slow their backstop polls on battery.
+  getOnBattery: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('hermes:power-battery:get'),
+  onBatteryChanged: callback => {
+    const listener = (_event, onBattery) => callback(Boolean(onBattery))
+    ipcRenderer.on('hermes:power-battery', listener)
+
+    return () => ipcRenderer.removeListener('hermes:power-battery', listener)
+  },
   onBootProgress: callback => {
     const listener = (_event, payload) => callback(payload)
     ipcRenderer.on('hermes:boot-progress', listener)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
index f176d7f7867..06dc49b56b4 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useEffect } from 'react'
 
 import { createClientSessionState } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
 import { $changeEventsAvailable, $cronChangeTick, $sessionsChangeTick } from '@/store/live-sync'
+import { $onBattery, batteryPollInterval } from '@/store/power'
 import { refreshActiveProfile } from '@/store/profile'
 import { $activeSessionId, $currentCwd, setCurrentCwd } from '@/store/session'
 import {
@@ -180,7 +181,10 @@ interface BackgroundSyncParams {
 }
 
 /** Poll a callback while the tab is visible, on `intervalMs`; re-checks on tab
- *  re-focus. Returns nothing — meant to live inside an effect. */
+ *  re-focus. On battery the cadence stretches (see store/power) — these are
+ *  safety-net refreshes, not the live path, so they're the right thing to slow
+ *  when the machine is spending its charge. Returns nothing — meant to live
+ *  inside an effect. */
 function visiblePoll(intervalMs: number, tick: () => void): () => void {
   const run = () => {
     if (document.visibilityState === 'visible') {
@@ -188,10 +192,17 @@ function visiblePoll(intervalMs: number, tick: () => void): () => void {
     }
   }
 
-  const intervalId = window.setInterval(run, intervalMs)
+  let intervalId = window.setInterval(run, batteryPollInterval(intervalMs, $onBattery.get()))
+
+  const unsubscribeBattery = $onBattery.listen(onBattery => {
+    window.clearInterval(intervalId)
+    intervalId = window.setInterval(run, batteryPollInterval(intervalMs, onBattery))
+  })
+
   document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', run)
 
   return () => {
+    unsubscribeBattery()
     window.clearInterval(intervalId)
     document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', run)
   }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts b/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
index d2804298fa2..f266f13aff1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
@@ -256,6 +256,8 @@ declare global {
       // reload. Wipe session lists (skeletons) and re-dial.
       onConnectionApplied?: (callback: () => void) => () => void
       onPowerResume?: (callback: () => void) => () => void
+      getOnBattery?: () => Promise<boolean>
+      onBatteryChanged?: (callback: (onBattery: boolean) => void) => () => void
       onBootProgress: (callback: (payload: DesktopBootProgress) => void) => () => void
       getBootstrapState: () => Promise<DesktopBootstrapState>
       continueBootstrapLocal: () => Promise<{ ok: boolean }>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
index 9a14e26e457..f2546d0c01a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import './styles.css'
 // Side-effect: reports in-flight turns to the main process for the quit guard.
 import './store/active-work'
+// Side-effect: mirrors the machine's AC/battery state for poll demotion.
+import './store/power'
 // Side-effect: applies the persisted window translucency on load.
 import './store/translucency'
 // Dev-only render/state churn counters. MUST precede the `react-dom` import
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/power.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/power.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4d6f5e2bb81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/power.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/**
+ * AC ↔ battery mirror of the main process's powerMonitor.
+ *
+ * Backstop polls are already event-demoted and visibility-gated; battery is
+ * the third gate — on battery their cadence stretches (×4) so a laptop
+ * running Hermes in the background isn't spending its charge on safety-net
+ * refreshes. Live streaming and event-driven refreshes are untouched: this
+ * only slows timers whose job is catching what a degraded socket missed.
+ *
+ * Imported for its side effect from `main.tsx` (same pattern as
+ * store/active-work).
+ */
+
+import { atom } from 'nanostores'
+
+export const $onBattery = atom<boolean>(false)
+
+/** Multiply a backstop poll interval by this on battery. */
+export const BATTERY_POLL_MULTIPLIER = 4
+
+export function batteryPollInterval(intervalMs: number, onBattery: boolean): number {
+  return onBattery ? intervalMs * BATTERY_POLL_MULTIPLIER : intervalMs
+}
+
+if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
+  const desktop = window.hermesDesktop
+
+  void desktop?.getOnBattery?.().then(onBattery => $onBattery.set(onBattery))
+  desktop?.onBatteryChanged?.(onBattery => $onBattery.set(onBattery))
+}