We have all been in that position where our
laptop battery starts to malfunction; that moment when a 10-hour battery life
device depreciates to serving you for one hour or less. Insight from the
Research and Development Unit of Yudala, Nigeria’s fastest growing composite
e-commerce outfit, shows that while laptop batteries often depreciate with
constant use over time, misuse or wrong usage often leads to this happening
within a short period of time and at a time when you should still be deriving
optimum utility from your laptop battery.
Laptop
batteries are usually made from lithium-ion: a lightweight, high-power battery often
used in computers and mobile phones. Lithium-ion batteries come in various
shapes, although a flat rectangle is most common in smartphones. It is lighter
than the nickel cadmium battery and the nickel metal-hydride battery, thus
accounting for its lightweight nature. Lithium-ion batteries work by the
movement of lithium ions through a membrane and are clearly different from
lithium batteries.
Whereas
lithium batteries contain lithium metal and are not rechargeable, lithium-ion
batteries do not contain lithium metal and are rechargeable.
However,
lithium-ion batteries do not last forever. Each lithium-ion battery will have an
average of 600 charge cycles and will work optimally for about 4-5 years
without a drastic depreciation on battery life. Hence, your laptop battery
should serve you well for at least 3-4 years depending on how frequently you
use the device and recharge the battery.
Research
shows that frequent travelers only get a couple of years out of their laptop
battery because they tend to charge intermittently and keep their laptop unplugged
when on the move which kills the laptop battery faster.
To
help you get maximum life out of your laptop battery, the following tips from Yudala will go a long way in helping you
save the cost of investing in a new battery at short intervals:
1.Avoid putting your laptop on soft
surfaces: It is easy to place your laptop on your thighs or bed while working
at home or during your rest time. Many of us are guilty of this. However, if
you need your battery to last long or have a stronger life span, it is advisable
to place the device on hard surfaces such as tables or desks in order to avoid
over-heating. Research has shown that heat is one of the biggest obstacles to
your battery’s longevity because your laptop fan can’t circulate air properly
when your laptop is placed on a soft surface.
2.Be careful how you store your laptop
battery: This cannot be over-emphasized. It is advisable to store your
laptop in a cool place with less heat. This tip is directed especially at
people who keep their laptops in their cars where it can get really hot when
it’s sunny. Laptop batteries do not work well with heat and might stop working
if exposed to excessive humidity. Research shows that, if a stored battery is
not charged, it starts to lose it energy and might get damaged. Also, for
travelers who leave their laptops behind, it is advisable to store your battery
with a 40 - 60% charge instead of a full charge. Study shows that fully charged
batteries depreciate faster than half-charged batteries.
3.Do not leave your laptop dead before plugging it
in: There is said to be a
problem called ‘battery memory’ which, cause batteries to ‘forget’ their
full charge capacity and start charging at lower levels; charging to 100% and
discharging to 0%. Current
research indicates that this problem doesn’t exist anymore and we have the
modern lithium-ion battery to thank for that. It is important to point out that
the problem here is not over-charging your laptop, which makes us believe that
letting your battery charge more than 100 percent will make the battery wear
out faster. A research study by Battery University shows that, modern
devices are designed to stop charging at 100 per cent hence, keeping them
plugged in doesn’t impact the battery’s lifespan. However, a lot of us wait
until our laptop dies before we plug it in, which isn’t good for our battery. You
should avoid letting your battery drain and discharge below 20 per cent, else,
it would reduce the charging capacity of your battery.
4.Show your laptop some love: This
starts with your battery. Your battery is the powerhouse of your laptop. Abandoning
your laptop battery and just letting it do its job without paying much attention
to it won’t cut it. Make sure to take care of the battery contact points; the
battery contact connects the battery to the laptop. If the contact point gets
dirty or damaged, it may reduce or disrupt the flow of power to the laptop. If you have a removable battery, you can carefully
wipe your battery with a soft cloth to get rid of dust. However, you have
nothing to worry about if your laptop battery is sealed.
5.Update
your laptop: As underrated as
this may sound, an outdated hardware may reduce the performance of your laptop
thereby affecting the laptop battery. The cells
in laptop batteries degrade over time, and it is totally normal for old laptop batteries
to hold charge less than an hour. Current laptops can achieve up to 10 hours of
standard usage because of the software that comes with the perk of a new laptop.
Henceforth, upgrading your laptop hardware will significantly improve your laptop
battery life.
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