The software Vista Laptop Battery Saver (which I found at Windows Vista Tweaks) automates the process for us. The memory resident software waits in the background and reacts when the notebook is changing into battery mode. It will disable the Windows Vista Aero theme completely if the mode is detected, which in turn means that you can work longer in battery mode.

It will also recognize when a power source is connected to the notebook and turn on the Aero theme automatically. This is probably the best solution if you want to work with Aero when you have a power source connected to your notebook. I decided to get rid of Aero completely and work with a custom theme which does not consume that much power.

Update: Service Packs and patches released for the Windows Vista operating system have resolved the situation somewhat. It appears as if the Windows Aero theme is not draining as much battery anymore than before. It is therefor recommended to download and install all Vista Service Packs and patches that Microsoft has made available in the meantime.

The easiest way to download those is via the operating system’s built-in Windows Update applet. Vista users can run it from the start menu of their operating system.