Who doesn’t
have a love/hate relationship with their laptop battery? It lets us be mobile,
but it also chains us to that little battery life gauge and the dreaded decay
of performance as time goes on. But by following certain best practices, you
can move the relationship more firmly toward the “love” side. Here’s how.
Save cycles,
save your battery
All laptop
batteries are built to handle a certain number of charge cycles, usually
somewhere around 500 full cycles and sometimes more. Essentially, a charge
cycle equals one full discharge down to zero percent and then a recharge back
up to 100 percent. A discharge down to 50 percent and then back to 100 percent
would equal half a cycle. Over time, each charge cycle decreases a battery’s
capacity from its design specifications, meaning that the fewer times you drain
it, the longer the battery last — all other things being equal.
And so, where
do you start? You can begin by visiting the power settings corner of your
laptop. Many computers offer the ability to switch to an “eco mode” that
automatically adjusts the way power is used (such as automatically dimming your
screen brightness) to conserve battery energy. You can also manually reduce the
amount of power you’re using by shutting off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you’re
not using them, turning off optional features such as keyboard backlighting,
and generally reducing the number of components burning power.
Also, pay
attention to hibernation modes. Ideally, you want your laptop to enter into
hibernation before the battery is totally drained – as well as during downtime
when you won’t be using the laptop for a while. Hibernation is typically a
power state where everything in working memory has been written to the hard
drive or SSD and then the laptop is turned completely off. Hibernation uses no
power, as opposed to various sleep states available with modern laptops that
use at least some power over time.
To save even
more power, take a tour of your apps and quit any that are running in the
background and steadily eating into your battery life. In Windows computers,
you can look at your System Tray, your Task Manager, and your Processes tab to
see which of those little icons really aren’t necessary. In macOS, you can see
what apps are using the most power by clicking on the battery icon in the
taskbar to the upper right and by opening the Activity Monitor and selecting
the Energy section. Cloud storage services or video players that you aren’t
using can be safely shut down. Both Microsoft and Apple have
guides explaining the process further.
And, of
course, there’s the best solution of all — don’t use your laptop on battery
power, if you don’t have to. In today’s era of long battery life, it’s easy to
forget to plug in when you come back to your desk. But that will, eventually,
shorten your battery’s lifespan.
Keeping your
battery in zone
In ancient,
less enlightened times, there was a problem called “battery memory” that
caused nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries to “forget” their full charge
capacity and start charging at lower and lower levels. This problem doesn’t
exist any longer thanks to modern lithium-ion batteries, but it has led to
a lot of poor advice and arguments about battery care based on outdated
information. It’s time to clear the air.
Contrary to
some recommendations, you don’t need to completely discharge a lithium-ion
battery and then recharge it to somehow reboot or calibrate it – this is a
destructive practice that’s very hard on your battery. Whether or not it’s a
smart idea to perform a complete discharge a couple of times a year remains an
unanswered question. Generally, the consensus seems to be that letting your
battery discharge (without bottoming it out — aim for around
20 percent) and then charge it when possible is the best practice.
Next, there
was a time when users were advised to refrain from keeping their devices
plugged in, based on the idea that letting a battery charge to 100 percent
could wear the battery out more quickly. Today, however, modern devices are
designed to stop charging at 100 percent and thus keeping them plugged in
doesn’t impact the battery’s lifespan, according to Battery University.
As with many
battery-related questions, the issue of keeping your laptop plugged in when
it’s reached full capacity is hotly debated, and so there’s nothing wrong with
turning your machine off and unplugging it. If you’re going to store your
laptop for an extended time without using it, then discharge or charge it to 50
percent before putting it away.
Generally
speaking, the best thing you can do for your lithium-ion battery is to avoid
letting it discharge below 20 percent. Plug it in and charge it when you can,
and then rinse and repeat. The good news is that with modern batteries and
systems there’s really not much else you need to do — except perhaps reasonably
expect that your battery will eventually start losing its overall capacity.
It’s getting
hot in here, so hide your batteries
Today’s
lithium-ion batteries are durable, but they can only take so much heat. High
temperatures can damage your laptop battery permanently, or reduce its
useful lifespan.
This leads to
some common sense suggestions. For example, if you are charging your battery
and it starts to get overly warm, perhaps because the CPU or graphics processor
is working hard or the environment is overly hot, then shut the device down and
pop the battery out if possible. Give it a break so that it can cool down or
you can move to someplace with a lower temperature. Of course, many modern
laptops have sealed batteries, in which case shutting the machine down and
letting it cool is highly recommended if maximizing the battery’s lifespan is
your concern.
Likewise,
keep the laptop off of your lap. If testicular damage and discomfort
weren’t good enough reasons, then with many machines you’re also making the
problem worse by blocking vents. You’ll want to make sure that both vents that
pull in cool air and those that expel hot air are able to do their jobs.
Finally, and
perhaps most importantly, you should avoid placing your laptop anywhere it
might become hot. That includes your car on a hot summer day, beneath a window
that gets direct sunlight, or near a space heater. Unusual conditions such as
these can do a lot of damage to a battery in a short period of time, though you
may not realize it immediately.
Cold
temperatures usually aren’t a problem down to a certain point, and storing a
battery in a cool place is recommended, but don’t leave your laptop in freezing
temperatures. Too much cold can also kill the battery permanently or
reduce its lifespan.
If you want
to watch temperature even more closely (say, you live in a particularly hot
climate), then there are a number of apps you can run that will monitor laptop
heat. This includes CoreTemp and Real Temp for Windows,
which you can download for free.
Giving your
laptop some TLC
Most people
just let their laptop battery sit, snug inside the laptop, doing its job. But
it’s a good idea to take your battery out from time to time and show it a
little love. Every few months, detach your battery and give it a careful wipe
with a soft cloth – get rid of any dust, and make sure the contact points are
especially clean.
Note that
this only replies to models with removable batteries. As laptops have become
thinner and lighter, removable batteries have become something of a luxury. If
your laptop has a sealed battery, then there’s little for you to worry about.
Things to
avoid
Want the best
battery? Here’s a quick list of bad practices.
§
Full
discharges: As mentioned, when a laptop
battery discharges fully – forcing a shutdown – the battery uses up a full
charge cycle. The more charge cycles consumed, the more quickly a battery will
give up the ghost. Even when running a discharge cycle, don’t let the battery
drop to zero percent. Instead, stop when your operating system warns you the
battery is getting low.
§
Reliance on
hibernation modes: This is a
similar point to the first. If you are constantly forcing your laptop to
hibernate in order to save the battery, then you aren’t keeping your battery at
the ideal percentages. Rethink your laptop habits, or at least accept that your
usage patterns will result in a battery that won’t last quite so long.
§
Long periods
of inactivity: If you must leave
your battery unused for long periods of time, then make sure it has around 50
percent charge remaining. A depleted battery can die forever if not recharged
soon enough. Generally speaking, though, keep using and properly charging your
battery as long as you have it.
§
Hot summer
days: Obviously you can’t always avoid
hot summers, but you know what this means: keep your laptop cool. Store it
indoors, avoid direct sunlight, and keep it out of hot cars during the warmest
days.
Software and
your battery
Finally, a
note about your software — keep it updated! Companies work hard to improve
the way that programs use power via software updates. The same operating system
on a later patch could use significantly less battery power, giving your
battery a longer lifespan without changing anything else. And so, review your
OS and keep your machine — and its battery — on a healthy diet of updates.
