Laptop Battery Care

Whenever you buy a new laptop or a laptop battery the battery will normally need to be completely charged before it can be used, as it will arrive in a discharged condition. To fully charge your battery we recommend leaving your laptop connected to a suitable mains supply overnight for at least 12 hours if the laptop battery you have purchased is either a NiCd or Li-Ion type. If your battery is of the NiMH type we recommend leaving your battery on charge for up-to 24 hours.

It is worth bearing in mind that NiCd or NiMH batteries will not reach their peak condition or full capacity until they have been charged and discharged 4 or 5 time through normal use, so please do not be alarmed if your battery does not initially last as long as the manufacturer has specified. These types of battery should always be fully discharged before charging where possible as they become conditioned to remember how long they should last. For instance if you only use 50% of your batteries capacity and constantly top up the charge from this point, the battery will sooner or later presume it should only last 50% of its original capacity even if your completely discharge and recharge.

Most new laptops will come with a Li-Ion battery, as it is a more effective and consumer friendly product. Li-Ion batteries work in a completely different way and do not remember charging history, in fact they perform best being kept topped up to full capacity, ideally doing so from around a 50% charge.

Laptop Battery Performance

NiCd, Li-Ion, and NiMH are all different types of battery and as such vary in both user performance and durability. Performance also varies slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer depending on the quality of cells that form the battery. Under normal laptop use you should expect a good quality Li-Ion battery to last for around 1000 cycles (approximately 3 years) with NiMH around 500 cycles, and NiCd being the least efficient performer at around 400 cycles.

The type of application you are using on your laptop will also have a dramatic effect on the run time of your battery. For instance playing a dvd or rendering images would consume more battery power than say editing a simple word document. In addition the type of laptop you have will affect battery performance, for instance a larger brighter screen, lower ram size, or power hungry processor may give you more speed, but like a car this extra speed consumes more energy.

Monitoring your laptops power settings allows you to enhance your batteries perfomance by taking advantage of your laptop's energy saving mode. Microsoft Windows includes two power settings created specifically to improve the performance of laptop computers. The Laptop setting minimizes power usage to conserve your battery, but at the same time adjusts itself to suit your laptops processing requirements, this way performance is not affected.

The second setting called "Max Battery" minimises power consumption and is designed for situations that require lower processing power such as viewing documents or browsing the Internet.

Technology is moving at a rapid pace and manufactures are improving the performance of all laptops helping to make mobile computing more consumer friendly as is demonstrated by say the release of the Intel Centrino 2 processor which offers a significant improvement to battery performance with run times reaching on average up-to 4 hours on a standard laptop. To achieve even greater battery performance you should consider an ultra portable laptop from Acer, Toshiba, or Sony etc which will give you 7-8 hours of computing time on just one charge.

For overall best battery performance disconnect your battery when you are using your laptop for a prolonged period connect to a mains supply, keeping it safely stored in a cool dry place preferably around 15 degrees centigrade. Remember though the older your battery the less run time you should expect.

External Laptop Battery

If you are looking to really achieve maximum mobility from your laptop then an external battery provides extra capacity. For example Maxpower produce a range of external batteries that are a designed to fit any laptop thanks to their universal tip system. These super slim external battery packs are designed to rest underneath your laptop and provide up-to an additional 9 hours of run time, making them a perfect choice for people who work away from a normal electricity supply during their working day.

New Batteries

When buying your next laptop, be sure to consider the computer's power requirements and performance. Pay attention to what battery comes with the machine, the run-time and cost of additional batteries, the ease with which new batteries can be inserted or attached and the time it takes to recharge batteries. Too often people focus only on a computer's great new features and ignore the power requirements of those features. No one likes to lug around several extra batteries just to keep a computer running on a long trip.

New batteries are generally not charged before they are delivered because the charge is not stable during the shipping process. You should fully charge and discharge a new battery as soon as you receive it. As a rule, a new battery must be fully charged and discharged at least five times in order to realize the maximum run time.

A new battery may cause the battery status indicator on your computer to indicate a dead or low battery condition. If this should occur, remove the battery and then re-insert it. If you still don't get a full indicator, let the battery charge in your computer overnight then discharge fully and recharge 3 - 5 times.

Battery Storage

Do not store batteries in extreme temperatures or wet areas. For example, do not leave your cellular phone or laptop in your car during the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter.