All of the devices in the PIC18F26/45/46Q10 family incorporate a range of features that can significantly
reduce power consumption during operation. Key items include:
- Alternate Run modes: By clocking the microcontroller from the
secondary oscillator or the internal oscillator block, power consumption during code
execution can be reduced by as much as 90%.
- Multiple Idle modes: The controller can also run with its CPU
core disabled but the peripherals are still active. In these states, power consumption
can be reduced even further, to as little as 4% of normal operation requirements.
- On-the-fly mode switching: The Power-Managed modes are invoked
by user code during operation, allowing the user to incorporate power-saving ideas into
their application’s software design.
- Peripheral Module Disable: Modules that are not being used in the code can be selectively disabled using the PMD module. This further reduces the power consumption.