According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of reducing power use in a device capable of operating at two or more power levels includes selecting a range of power management timer settings for a first power management timer. The first power management timer is for switching the device from a first power level to a second power level. In the second power level portions of the device are de-energized. An estimated energy value to complete a series of tasks is calculated for each of a plurality of settings within the range of power management timer settings. A power management timer setting is selected from the range of power management timer settings based on the estimated energy value to complete a series of tasks for each of the plurality of settings within the range of settings.