Friday, October 19, 2012

Laptop Battery Care | Maintenance and Tips

Your Laptop's battery performance depends on it's operating condition and use. These conditions affect the battery life considerably so without proper care, your laptop battery will deteriorate in a much faster pace. 

Here are some tips to make the most of your laptop's battery life and performance.

Break-in period : 
  • When we get a new battery, it is always indicated to fully charge the battery for a certain number of hours before use. This is to ensure that the battery gets to it's FULL capacity.
  • You can perform a breaking in routine for your new laptop battery by simply charging it to 100% capacity then use it down to 20% before charging it again. This routine is better than fully charging your battery and fully discharging it which gives additional stress to the battery cells.

Using your batteries :
  • Batteries deteriorate even when not in use, it starts deteriorating from the moment it is assembled in the factory hence it's inevitable that your batteries will die sooner or later so use it while you can.
  • Avoid exposing your battery to heat as much as possible. Heat is the number one enemy of batteries and will hasten it's deterioration dramatically. When using your laptop, make sure the vents are clean and unobstructed. Avoid placing your laptop on top of a pillow or bed, this practice covers the exhaust vents of your laptop and may lead to overheating issues.
  • Avoid Deep discharges. Don't make it a habit of drying up your batteries to the point that it shuts down the laptop. Over discharging makes the battery heat up faster due to the added stress.

Storage :
  • If you are on AC power most of the time, it is advisable to remove your battery not because of the so called "overcharging" but because of heat. You can't overcharge your batteries even if it is left plugged for months because once the battery reaches 100% capacity, the power is diverted and the charging stops. What you should be concerned about is the unnecessary exposure to heat while your battery is attached even when you are using AC power. 
  • Do not store batteries fully charged. Fully charged batteries gives more stress compared to a battery that have 50% capacity. If you won't be using your battery for a month or so, store it with 40 to 50% charge. That way, it won't be stressed compared to having full capacity and won't be in danger of over discharge because remember, batteries still lose their charge even when not in use.
  • Store your batteries away from heat and humidity. Like what's stated earlier, heat is the number one killer of batteries. Heat expedite chemical reactions in the battery cells that deteriorates in time. Avoid storing your batteries inside the car or somewhere extremely hot and humid. Some people even place their batteries in a zip lock bag and put it in the fridge. Just make sure there will be no condensation inside the bag.

So to summarize, accept the fact that your batteries will die sooner or later. It is up to you how you can extend it's life and maximize it's use. Heat is the number one enemy to look out for, second is the way you use or abuse it. The more you take care of your batteries, the longer and better performance you can get from it.



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