Systems and methods for active power management are described. In one embodiment, the systems and methods include obtaining power dissipation metrics for a plurality of components under one or more operating scenarios, generating a reference dissipation model based on the power dissipation metrics of the plurality of components, and implementing the reference dissipation model in a storage system to make component scheduling decisions in relation to power management of the storage system. In some embodiments, the storage system includes any combination of a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a hybrid drive, and a system of multiple storage drives.