How to maximise your laptop battery lifeEver had a situation where your laptop dies during a critical moment? Practising these seven tips can help to prolong laptop battery life.
1. Simple ways to maximize your battery life
To stretch the run time of your laptop battery, be sure to dim your display when you are not connected to an AC supply. The screen draws the most power from your battery.
In addition, disabling unnecessary processes such as Bluetooth and WiFi network connections when they aren’t being used will save you valuable juice. Disconnecting external devices like USB flash drives will also help extend your run time.
2. Do not constantly charge your battery
A battery constantly kept at full charge will degrade at a faster rate. If you connect your laptop to an AC supply most of the time, reducing the maximum charge threshold with an application like Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Power Manager will help prolong the lifespan of your battery.
We recommend 80 per cent as a starting point, then increasing that percentage if it does not provide the necessary run time when your computer is running on battery power. Some Lenovo computers, such as the ThinkPad X1 and ThinkPad Edge E420s, will automatically determine how the battery is being used and will adjust the charge parameters accordingly.
3. Keep your battery installed even when your laptop is plugged into a power source
We recommend keeping the battery installed in your computer even if it is always connected to an AC supply. In some cases, the computer may not be operating at 100 percent without the battery installed. In addition, by removing the battery, there is no protection against the power being disconnected accidentally, causing a shutdown and potential loss of data.
4. Store your extra battery well
If you have an extra battery and intend to store it for a long period of time, do get it to a 50 percent charge level before removing it from the computer for storage in a cool environment.
5. Keep your battery cool
Heat causes a battery to degrade at a faster rate, hence it is best to minimize the amount of heat that the battery is subjected to. Ensure that cooling vents are not blocked, and have good power management profiles to keep the system components working as cool as possible. For example, Lenovo’s IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook has a breathable keyboard which uses Intel’s Advanced Cooling Technology to improve airflow so that it can run cooler on your lap.
A good system design also keeps heat from the CPU and system components from impacting the battery. In addition, avoid storing your battery or computer in hot environments, like in a car on a hot day.
6. Lithium ion batteries are free from memory effects
Modern-day lithium ion batteries do not have any memory effects present in other battery types such as NiCd and NiMH, so it is not necessary to do full charges and discharges. However, doing a full discharge and charge cycle periodically will help keep your battery fuel gauge accurate.
7. When to replace your battery?
Batteries are a consumable item and their capacity will be reduced due to usage and aging. The fully charged power of laptop batteries will gradually diminish with the number of accumulated charge cycles. As a result, the standby time of your battery will become shorter over time. We recommend you replace your battery when it cannot hold a full charge, or when its actual run time significantly falls below its original run time.
1. Simple ways to maximize your battery life
To stretch the run time of your laptop battery, be sure to dim your display when you are not connected to an AC supply. The screen draws the most power from your battery.
In addition, disabling unnecessary processes such as Bluetooth and WiFi network connections when they aren’t being used will save you valuable juice. Disconnecting external devices like USB flash drives will also help extend your run time.
2. Do not constantly charge your battery
A battery constantly kept at full charge will degrade at a faster rate. If you connect your laptop to an AC supply most of the time, reducing the maximum charge threshold with an application like Lenovo’s ThinkVantage Power Manager will help prolong the lifespan of your battery.
We recommend 80 per cent as a starting point, then increasing that percentage if it does not provide the necessary run time when your computer is running on battery power. Some Lenovo computers, such as the ThinkPad X1 and ThinkPad Edge E420s, will automatically determine how the battery is being used and will adjust the charge parameters accordingly.
3. Keep your battery installed even when your laptop is plugged into a power source
We recommend keeping the battery installed in your computer even if it is always connected to an AC supply. In some cases, the computer may not be operating at 100 percent without the battery installed. In addition, by removing the battery, there is no protection against the power being disconnected accidentally, causing a shutdown and potential loss of data.
4. Store your extra battery well
If you have an extra battery and intend to store it for a long period of time, do get it to a 50 percent charge level before removing it from the computer for storage in a cool environment.
5. Keep your battery cool
Heat causes a battery to degrade at a faster rate, hence it is best to minimize the amount of heat that the battery is subjected to. Ensure that cooling vents are not blocked, and have good power management profiles to keep the system components working as cool as possible. For example, Lenovo’s IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook has a breathable keyboard which uses Intel’s Advanced Cooling Technology to improve airflow so that it can run cooler on your lap.
A good system design also keeps heat from the CPU and system components from impacting the battery. In addition, avoid storing your battery or computer in hot environments, like in a car on a hot day.
6. Lithium ion batteries are free from memory effects
Modern-day lithium ion batteries do not have any memory effects present in other battery types such as NiCd and NiMH, so it is not necessary to do full charges and discharges. However, doing a full discharge and charge cycle periodically will help keep your battery fuel gauge accurate.
7. When to replace your battery?
Batteries are a consumable item and their capacity will be reduced due to usage and aging. The fully charged power of laptop batteries will gradually diminish with the number of accumulated charge cycles. As a result, the standby time of your battery will become shorter over time. We recommend you replace your battery when it cannot hold a full charge, or when its actual run time significantly falls below its original run time.
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