07/20

There is much debate over the preservation and extension of the battery life in laptop computers. Whether to leave them plugged in, let their charge deplete, or remove the battery completely. In truth, there are many different ways to preserve the life of your battery, and they all depend on how you typically prefer to use the device.

Many of you are familiar with the concept of wearing down the lifespan of a laptop battery by leaving the device plugged in all the time. Websites and experts will stress the importance of allowing the battery to run down completely and plug in only when the laptop is about to die. But this advice is a bit dated.

Modern laptops run on lithium-ion batteries, as opposed to the older models with nickel metal-hydride and nickel cadmium batteries. The problem with the older batteries is that they would eventually lose the usage of their energy cells, and thus their span would shorten rapidly if they were not allowed to deplete before being recharged.

Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from this issue, and can be recharged from whatever capacity they are at. However, it is still not a good idea to leave even a modern laptop plugged in all the time, as the battery will never receive proper “exercise” and will remain consistently between 95% and 100% and never condition properly for extended usage away from an AC outlet.

If you are the type of person who always uses their laptop in the same place, and thus are not necessarily concerned with the lifespan of your battery away from an outlet, then it is not unreasonable to remove your battery completely and store it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, as this will actually increase the time the battery will last overall in comparison to leaving it in the computer or storing it in a drawer or other warm area. (Be sure however that the battery is at least half-charge before storing, and to check it’s charge every now and again as it will continue to very slowly deplete regardless of disuse).

It is actually not any worse for the environment or your electric bill to strictly utilize AC power for your laptop as laptops are actually much more energy-efficient than desktops and a good replacement if you are concerned about energy consumption. Just be sure to adjust your “Power Settings” (usually accessible via the lower-right taskbar) to run the machine at lower than max-capacity standards, as these are usually unnecessary unless gaming or playing movies. Even in this case it is still wise to unplug the laptop when you are finished using it for a while.

Activities like running discs, charging peripheral items like mp3 players, or leaving email programs up in the background will all deplete a laptop’s battery more quickly. Dimming the screen and reducing multi-tasking will extend battery life. It is also helps save power to “Hibernate” the computer as opposed to letting it just go to “Sleep” – that is unless you know that you have low disk space or a cluttered hard drive, in which case issues may ensue when waking the computer. Hibernating can also cause a loss of communication with USB-connected devices, so consider shutting the system down completely when not in use, as this also allows the computer to install important periodic updates.

If your current laptop is an older model and/or is dying often, it may be wiser to look into purchasing a new one as opposed to simply replacing the battery. Batteries can cost up to 1/3 as much as the computer themselves, and in an older model even a new battery will see the same problems. Larger batteries such as these are hazardous to dispose of, so it is both more personally and environmentally efficient to try to extend the life of the one you have, rather than continually replacing dead ones.

Keep these tips in mind when considering the longevity of your laptop battery and as always, feel free to contact TechStop by phone, email, or in person with any further questions. We’d love to help make your life just a little bit easier.

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