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How to make laptop batteries last longer

SIMPLE TIPS TO KEEP YOUR LAPTOP BATTERY HEALTHY   

Batteries are an essential component of most modern devices that convert chemical energy into electrical energy, such as computers, torchlights, lamps, and phones. 

There are two types of battery cells, primary and secondary cells. 

The primary cells are non-rechargeable and secondary cells are rechargeable.

Laptop batteries are usually battery packs of lithium-ion cells that may be removed and loaded. 

The majority of laptop batteries are available in six, nine or twelve cell sets. The more the battery pack contains cells, the longer the battery charge lasts. 

Healthy Laptop battery tips  

The following tips are simple. If you pay a little attention to your battery than usual, these modest steps can pay off big time in terms of battery life. You could add many years to the life of your batteries.

Don’t Completely discharge

 Lithium-ion batteries should not be completely depleted because the lifespan of the cells would be shortened. They should be regularly charged to be above zero charge. 

Keep a battery charger away and ensure that sufficient airflow is available for safety. It is also a good idea not to leave a battery charging unattended.

Don’t Overcharge. 

Do you know what the 40/80 rule is? It is more applicable to nickel-based batteries, stating that the charge should be kept between 40% and 80%. Even though that rule isn’t claimed to apply to newer lithium-ion batteries, it’s still a good practice to follow. Please keep it in that range as much as possible to extend its life as much as possible. DON’T LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN EVEN IF YOU DO CHARGE IT TO 100%. This is something that most of us do, but it is another thing that will harm the health of your battery. Use something like the Belkin Conserve Socket to stop it from charging after it’s full if you need to charge it overnight.

Keep laptop cool

This is one that most people ignore. Excessive heat is terrible not just for your processor (and your lap) but also for your battery. A hot battery’s health will deteriorate considerably faster than a cool battery. When using your laptop, it’s preferable to keep it out of the sun, but it’s also crucial to keep it cool when storing it. According to Battery University, the ideal way to keep your battery is at room temperature. If you keep your laptop at temperatures between 32- and 55-degrees Fahrenheit and use it every day for three months, the battery will only lose 4% of its overall charge. On the other hand, if you keep your laptop around 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit while using it every day, the battery will lose 20-30% of its overall charge. Keep in mind that you would never leave your dog or child in a hot car. It’s also not a good idea to leave your laptop under heat.

Shallow discharging

Instead of constantly discharging to 0%, lithium-ion batteries perform best when they are discharged for a short time and then charged for a short time. According to a study by Battery University, discharges to 50% are better for your battery’s long-term life than minor discharges to 90% or huge discharges to 0%. (since the 50 per cent discharges provide the best number of cycles-to-usage ratio).

Once a moon, discharge completely 

(THIS MAY SEEM CONTRADICTORY, BUT HEAR US OUT.) 

Although lithium-ion batteries should not be depleted on a daily level, most modern batteries are ‘intelligent batteries’ (e.g., “2 hours, 15 minutes remaining”). This feature can be miscalibrated after a lot of shallow discharge. Manufacturers recommend that you discharge your battery once monthly to ensure that information remains true.

There you have it, as you can see there’s plenty of ways to keep your battery healthy and last longer.

Preserve Battery power during use

Laptops are convenient for people who travel and work on the go, but their batteries may only last 4-6 hours. While using your notebook or laptop there are additional things you could do to preserve battery life. Here are some simple suggestions and techniques to extend the power availability time of your battery..

Use the power-saving mode: In the control panel, go to ‘Power Options’ and set your power plan to ‘power saving’ to consume less power when your laptop is on. 

Use apps that analyse battery health: Check the health of your battery while you’re on the control panel. In the ‘Power Manager,’ it should be immediately underneath ‘Power Options.’

Disable unused devices: Unplug any unused devices that utilise battery power. Your battery can be depleted by external devices such as a mouse, Wi-Fi, external speakers, external hard drives, webcams and Bluetooth. Turn them off while they’re not in use. 

Charge your laptop before it dies: Using your laptop until the battery is entirely depleted can cause damage to the battery. If your laptop has a lithium-ion battery (which most modern laptops do), charge it as soon as possible. 

Turn off/hibernate: If you won’t be using your laptop for a few hours, turn it off to preserve energy and battery life. If you need to get back to work fast, set it to hibernate rather than sleep. In sleep mode, the laptop’s CPU slows down while the memory remains active.

Maintain a cool environment: Excessive heat can harm your laptop’s battery. During the summer, avoid leaving it in the car and monitor the temperature of your laptop while you work. You can use your hands to notice a rise in temperature or use an app like Core Temp. Use a lap desk with an open gap underneath to allow air circulation if you work for long periods.

Sufficient Computer Ram: Check to see that you have enough RAM. (Using swap files or the disk drive when memory is low will also diminish power from batteries) 

Screen Brightness: Reduce the brightness of the screen. 

Wireless connection: When you don’t require a wireless connection, turn off WIFI and Bluetooth. If you have an ethernet connection with the internet available, even better.

Laptop batteries are produced from high-quality materials, are long-lasting, and provide good performance. 

If you’re having trouble with your battery, it might be time to replace the battery.

At Gadgetcity, we have a range of laptop batteries to suit popular devices for DIY’ers out there. See our batteries here https://www.gadgetcity.com.au/battery-station-laptop-batteries-c-94_78.html

For battery replacement, most laptops have latches on the back or bottom of the chassis that are released to reveal the battery compartment. Keep in mind, there’s always plenty of youtube videos to learn from like this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tToAwO6f-SY on How To: Replace the battery in your MacBook Air 13″

Personally, I always keep my laptop plugged into power and this has worked for me the best over the years. You pretty much find power everywhere these days so there’s no excuse to be plugged in using the laptop at its full capacity without the worry of it turning off.