Tips for Longer Laptop Battery Life

11 replies

KingFISHER

2013/01/30 05:10

General Laptop Battery Information *. Laptop batteries should last approximately 1.5 to 3 years (or500-800 recharges). *. Depending on the type of battery, a poorly conditioned battery can begin to lose effectiveness within the first month of use. You can expect to irreversibly lose 20% of a lithium-ion batteryâ€™s charge every year from its original dateof manufacture . *. If you travel a lot and use and charge your battery frequently, then you might only get a couple years at most out of your battery. *. Batteries age even if not used.

KingFISHER

2013/01/30 05:12

proper Use and Maintenance purchase *. Always check the manufacturer date. The lifespan of lithium-ionbatteries are limited by their manufature date. *. Do not buy 3 rd party bateries asthey are more susceptible to overheating. Purchase your battery directly from your laptop dealer

KingFISHER

2013/01/30 05:15

Every day use

*. Do not expose the battery to extreme temperatures. Do not leave your battery outside in the cold or in your car in the summer. Cold batteries canâ€™t create very much power and hot batteries will discharge veryquickly. Permanent damage willresult if the battery is stored in temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

*. Don't pack your laptop away in a backpack or other enclosed space when the battery is still warm, trapping the heat. A battery that is frequently hot tothe touch will lose life a lot faster than a battery that isn't constantly being stressed. Worst of all: if your laptop crashes or refuses to shut off properly, the battery can get extremely hot when packed away in your bag. Check it to make sure it has not gotten dangerously hot while stowed away over the weekend.

*. Keep vents clear - don't put your laptop on a fluffy pillow ora cushioned service that will cover vents and trap heat.

*. Avoid allowing your device to discharge completely. Constantly recharching a lithium-ion battery does not shorten the battery life more than normal usage would. Avoid letting it sit on empty for too long; instead, keep it charged-up if you can.

KingFISHER

2013/01/30 05:17

Storage

*. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (greater than a week), remove the battery from the laptop andstore it in a cool, dry place awayfrom heat and metal objects. Optimal Settings For basic computer usage, here are some tips for how to run the computer to lengthen the battery life.

*. Dim the screen . The screen is one of the largest battery drainers in the system, and we recommend that you dim the screen as much as possible. Ideally, you should run the screen on the first brightness setting for the best battery life.

*. Turn off the screen when pausing work . One habit that will increase the battery life is to fully dim the display when not in use. For instance, before taking a break to stretch or chat with people, hit the dim key until the screen turns off completely. Then only brighten the screen enough to do the next few tasks and dim it again when done with those tasks.

*. Turn off keyboard backlighting . The backlight on the keyboard should be turned off unless you absolutely need it.

KingFISHER

2013/01/30 05:19

*. Put computer in sleep mode when taking long breaks . Avoidturning off the computer, since booting it up will drain the battery. If you are taking a break from your work for 5 to 10 minutes, put the computer in sleep mode. *. Disconnect peripheral devices . We recommend you minimize the use of these devices. USB mice, hard drives, and even thumb drives will take some energy to run, and as such, will lower the runtime of the computer. In addition, avoid using the CD/DVD drive. *. Control power usage . Use the Power Options to set the laptopto go inactive after a set amount of time. Set adjustments so that the display goes off first.