diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamScreen.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamScreen.kt
index 470b1df..f05c924 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamScreen.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamScreen.kt
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.MicOff
 import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.PlayArrow
 import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.Settings
 import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.Stop
+import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.Visibility
+import androidx.compose.material.icons.filled.VisibilityOff
 import androidx.compose.material3.FloatingActionButton
 import androidx.compose.material3.Icon
 import androidx.compose.material3.MaterialTheme
@@ -68,6 +70,7 @@ fun StreamScreen(
     val streamState by viewModel.streamState.collectAsState()
     val streamStats by viewModel.streamStats.collectAsState()
     val lastFailureDetail by viewModel.lastFailureDetail.collectAsState()
+    val isEnergySavingEnabled by viewModel.isEnergySavingEnabled.collectAsState()
 
     val snackbarHostState = remember { SnackbarHostState() }
 
@@ -107,14 +110,37 @@ fun StreamScreen(
                 .fillMaxSize()
                 .padding(contentPadding)
         ) {
-            // Layer 1: Camera preview (full-screen background)
+            // Layer 1: Camera preview (full-screen background).
+            // IMPORTANT: This composable must ALWAYS be present while streaming,
+            // even when energy-saving mode is active. Removing it would destroy
+            // the SurfaceView and trigger stopPreview() on the encoder, which
+            // breaks the live RTMP stream. The energy-saving overlay (Layer 2)
+            // hides the camera feed visually without touching the encoder.
             CameraPreview(
                 modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize(),
                 onSurfaceReady = { openGlView -> viewModel.onSurfaceReady(openGlView) },
                 onSurfaceDestroyed = { viewModel.onSurfaceDestroyed() }
             )
 
-            // Layer 2: HUD overlay at the top (only visible when live or reconnecting)
+            // Layer 2: Energy-saving overlay — shown instead of the live camera
+            // feed when the user has enabled energy-saving mode. The camera and
+            // encoder continue running underneath; only the display is dimmed.
+            if (isEnergySavingEnabled) {
+                Box(
+                    modifier = Modifier
+                        .fillMaxSize()
+                        .background(Color(0xFF111111)),
+                    contentAlignment = Alignment.Center
+                ) {
+                    Text(
+                        text = "⚡ Energy Saving",
+                        color = Color.White.copy(alpha = 0.5f),
+                        fontSize = 14.sp
+                    )
+                }
+            }
+
+            // Layer 3: HUD overlay at the top (only visible when live or reconnecting)
             if (streamState is StreamState.Live || streamState is StreamState.Reconnecting) {
                 StreamHud(
                     stats = streamStats,
@@ -122,7 +148,7 @@ fun StreamScreen(
                 )
             }
 
-            // Layer 3: Connection state indicator at bottom-start
+            // Layer 4: Connection state indicator at bottom-start
             ConnectionStateLabel(
                 state = streamState,
                 modifier = Modifier
@@ -130,9 +156,10 @@ fun StreamScreen(
                     .padding(16.dp)
             )
 
-            // Layer 4: Control buttons on the right edge
+            // Layer 5: Control buttons on the right edge
             ControlPanel(
                 streamState = streamState,
+                isEnergySavingEnabled = isEnergySavingEnabled,
                 viewModel = viewModel,
                 onSettingsClick = onNavigateToSettings,
                 modifier = Modifier
@@ -149,6 +176,7 @@ fun StreamScreen(
 @Composable
 private fun ControlPanel(
     streamState: StreamState,
+    isEnergySavingEnabled: Boolean,
     viewModel: StreamViewModel,
     onSettingsClick: () -> Unit,
     modifier: Modifier = Modifier
@@ -218,6 +246,17 @@ private fun ControlPanel(
             )
         }
 
+        // Energy-saving toggle (only shown when streaming).
+        // Hides the camera preview with a dark overlay without touching the
+        // encoder, so the RTMP stream continues uninterrupted.
+        if (isStreaming) {
+            ControlButton(
+                icon = if (isEnergySavingEnabled) Icons.Filled.VisibilityOff else Icons.Filled.Visibility,
+                contentDescription = if (isEnergySavingEnabled) "Show preview" else "Hide preview",
+                onClick = { viewModel.toggleEnergySaving() }
+            )
+        }
+
         // Settings button (only shown when idle or stopped)
         if (!isStreaming) {
             ControlButton(
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamViewModel.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamViewModel.kt
index d50fb71..6f13ac5 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamViewModel.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/port80/app/ui/stream/StreamViewModel.kt
@@ -81,6 +81,19 @@ class StreamViewModel @Inject constructor(
     /** Last user-facing diagnostic detail for stream startup/connection failures. */
     val lastFailureDetail: StateFlow<String?> = _lastFailureDetail.asStateFlow()
 
+    private val _isEnergySavingEnabled = MutableStateFlow(false)
+
+    /**
+     * Whether energy-saving mode is active.
+     *
+     * When true, the camera preview is hidden behind a dark overlay. The RTMP
+     * stream and camera encoder continue running undisturbed — only the on-screen
+     * display is suppressed. This is implemented entirely in the UI layer so that
+     * neither [stopPreview] nor any encoder operation is triggered, which would
+     * otherwise break the live stream.
+     */
+    val isEnergySavingEnabled: StateFlow<Boolean> = _isEnergySavingEnabled.asStateFlow()
+
     // One-shot UI events (e.g. "service died") — SharedFlow so they're
     // not replayed on recomposition / re-collection.
     private val _uiEvents = MutableSharedFlow<UiEvent>(extraBufferCapacity = 1)
@@ -125,6 +138,12 @@ class StreamViewModel @Inject constructor(
                 viewModelScope.launch {
                     service.streamState.collect { state ->
                         _streamState.value = state
+                        // Energy-saving mode is only meaningful while streaming.
+                        // Reset it automatically so the next session starts with
+                        // preview enabled, regardless of how the previous stream ended.
+                        if (state is StreamState.Idle || state is StreamState.Stopped) {
+                            _isEnergySavingEnabled.value = false
+                        }
                     }
                 }
                 viewModelScope.launch {
@@ -246,6 +265,21 @@ class StreamViewModel @Inject constructor(
         serviceControl?.switchCamera()
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Toggle the energy-saving (preview-hidden) mode on or off.
+     *
+     * This is a **UI-only** toggle — it never touches the encoder, camera, or
+     * RTMP connection. A dark overlay is shown over the SurfaceView so the device
+     * display consumes less power, but video encoding and streaming continue
+     * without interruption.
+     *
+     * Safe to call any number of times while streaming.
+     */
+    fun toggleEnergySaving() {
+        _isEnergySavingEnabled.value = !_isEnergySavingEnabled.value
+        RedactingLogger.d(TAG, "Energy-saving mode toggled: ${_isEnergySavingEnabled.value}")
+    }
+
     // ══════════════════════════════════════════════
     //  Surface Lifecycle
     // ══════════════════════════════════════════════