10 top ways to extend your laptop battery's life

Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up.Hp laptop battery How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible? Here are 10 easy ways to do so.



1.Dim your screen - Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice.



2.Cut down external devices - USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. HP PF723A Battery, HP 367759-001 Battery, HP PM579A Battery, HP Pavilion DV4000 Battery It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.



3.Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. HP PF723A Battery, Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones.



4.Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.



5.Take care of your battery - Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (Discharing is only for older batteries with memory effects).HP 367759-001 Battery, refer to some extra tips by disocunt-battery.org.



6.Set up and optimize your power options - Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect).



7.Don’t multitask - Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery. Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed!



8.Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient HP PF723A Battery, HP 367759-001 Battery, HP PM579A Battery, HP Pavilion DV4000 Battery laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix.



9.Hibernate not standby - Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is,HP PM579A Battery, and completely shut itself down.



10.Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ - Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which do not suffer from the memory effect.



The article comes from friedbeef. What are your experiences with laptop batteries? Share them with us in the comments!

Longevity of high-power lithium-ion

Generally speaking, batteries live longer if treated in a gentle manner. High charge voltages, excessive charge rate and extreme load conditions will have a negative effect and shorten the battery life. This also applies to high current rate lithium-ion batteries.

Not only is it better to charge lithium-ion battery at a slower charge rate, high discharge rates also contribute the extra wear and tear. Figure 3 shows the cycle life as a function of charge and discharge rates. Observe the good laboratory performance if the battery is charged and discharged at 1C. HP Pavilion DV4000 Battery (A 0.5C charge and discharge would further improve this rating.)



Figure 3: Longevity of lithium-ion as a function of charge and discharge rates.

A moderate charge and discharge puts less stress on the battery, resulting in a longer cycle life.



Battery experts agree that the life of lithium-ion depends on other factors than charge and discharge rates. Even though incremental improvements can be achieved with careful use of the battery,HP PF723A Battery, HP 367759-001 Battery, HP PM579A Battery, HP Pavilion DV4000 Battery our environment and the services required are not always conducive to achieve optimal battery life. The longevity of a battery is often a direct result of the environmental stresses applied.