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prolonging a laptops battery

  • 05-11-2009 10:33am
    #1
    Balmed Out
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,730 ✭✭✭


    Am i right in thinking it should be fully used before recharging and then left to recharge fully? If it is recharged should the battery be taken out if your using it plugged in?


Comments

  • #2
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Balmed Out wrote: »
    Am i right in thinking it should be fully used before recharging and then left to recharge fully? If it is recharged should the battery be taken out if your using it plugged in?

    Nope.

    Lithium ion batteries don't need to be fully discharged before recharging. Its worth discharging them fully once every few months, but only so that the 'battery meter' in your laptop can calibrate itself and give you an accurate reading.

    The three main things that cause a battery to lose capacity are
    1) Use. Just charging and discharging - that flow of current in and out is what degrades the cells most.

    2) Age. Batteries will gradually expire anyway. They'll lose a few % capacity every year whether you use them or not. No point in stockpiling them, and always try to buy 'fresh' from the factory batteries.

    3) Temperature. Store two batteries for a year, one at a warm temperature (like your laptop) and one in a cool press, and the cooler one will have degraded less. However if it is only spending 50% of the time in a cool place (like you are constantly taking out and putting it back in) the difference will be pretty negligible. It'll still be the actual use of the battery (charging/discharging) that has the biggest effect.


  • #3
    Balmed Out
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,730 ✭✭✭Balmed Out


    Cheers for that, is it worth taking out the battery then if its charged and you have access to the mains?


  • #4
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Balmed Out wrote: »
    Cheers for that, is it worth taking out the battery then if its charged and you have access to the mains?

    Its only worth it if you are putting it somewhere much cooler than the temperature of your laptop - like a fridge. If you are just taking it out and leaving it on the desk, well you may as well not bother.

    And the effect will depend on how long you are putting it there for. Like over a full year, you might only lose 5% capacity in a fridge-stored battery, compared to 10% or 15% if it was sitting in your warm laptop. But its not going to be in the fridge for the full year realistically, it'll be in and out as you need to use it, so the practical effect will be less.


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