Laptop battery life plays an important role apart from hardware configuration
when buying a new laptop, because laptop or notebook means portability and most
of the time your laptop/notebook will have to run on battery. Even if you have
a solid laptop specs, a bad laptop battery life will be considered as poor
product and often disappoints users.
Every user desires
the best laptop battery life but most of the laptop battery begin to die after an
year or two until one day you will notice that you laptop backup lasts only for
a few minutes and thats the indication to the end of the laptop battery life.
So whats an average laptop battery life?, well it depends on a lot of factors
like hardware configuration, usage, battery care, operating environment,
charge-discharge cycles etc.
Average laptop
battery life!
Typically a laptop
battery lasts for about two years until dead if you use your laptop regularly.
As i said above the laptop battery life depends on a lot of factors so
you can’t expect the same from every laptop. But to get the maximum benefits
from your laptop battery you need to take good care of your laptop and follow
some of the basic tips to ensure you get an extended laptop battery life.
Before you blame your
laptop for low battery life, here are some facts you should know.
Reasons of a poor
laptop battery life.
- Constant charging on power adapter.
- Using laptop in a too hot environment.
- Not using your laptop for months.
- Leaving the battery completely discharged.
- Using Standby Mode for more than 2 hrs.
- High LCD screen brightness.
How to extend your
laptop battery life?
1. Keep it away from heat -A heating
laptop/notebook is not good for laptop battery life, always try to keep your
laptop cool keet it away from hot places like near window under sun, leaving
your laptop in a heating car or a mistakenly running laptop inside a bag.
2. For older laptops – Older laptops
suffered with memory effect which lead to reduced laptop battery life. If you
have an old laptop that does not have a Li-Ion battery then you need to make sure
that the laptop battery is completely charged and then discharged completely at
least once in a month. Newer laptops come with Li-Ion battery which doesnt
require such procedure.
3. Don’t Leave Battery Idle –
If you usually run
your laptop on power adapter then do not let the battery in a charged
state all
the time, give a workout to your battery often, use the laptop on
battery at
least once every two or three weeks and most importantly do not let the
Li-Ion
battery on newer laptops completely discharge ever, as this will degrade
your laptop battery life and will cause a small percentage of permanent
wear to
your battery charging capacity.
4. Running laptop on power
adapter – If you plan to run
the laptop for long hours anytime, it is suggested to remove the battery
temporarily and run the laptop directly on power adapter. This might be
possible only for those who have a power backup at home or office, since it may
lead to data loss on power cut. Most of the laptops can be used directly on
power adapter without battery but if your laptop is heating up then you have no
option but to use it with battery.
5. Storing Laptop battery – If the laptop will
not be used for some time then you should plug out the battery from laptop
after charging at least half and then store it in a cool dry place but make
sure to use and charge the battery at least once a month, this will ensure your
laptop battery life is intact. Do not let it die in the closet forever.
6. Use the right laptop power
adapter – Charging and running your laptop using a wrong power
adapter is dangerous, it will not only cause serious damage your laptop battery
life but can also permanently damage your laptop hardware. So never use a
charger from someone else’s laptop. Only use the original charger or an
aftermarket charger with absolutely same specifications.
7. Plug off external devices – To ensure an
extended laptop battery life you should avoid using external usb devices
when running on battery. The external devices like Mouse, external drive,
iPhone or iPod consume your battery a little faster and hence will reduce the
battery backup.
8. Using Hibernate Mode – Avoid using
shutdown mode on laptops and notebooks, turning on the laptop again will drain
your laptop battery until you see the desktop screen. As far as standby mode is
concerned, use it only for short breaks while its best to hibernate the laptop
when you are away for a while. Hibernation saves your last computer state on
the HDD and restores it instantly consuming minimal battery when you resume
your work again.
9. Select the Power Saving
plan – If you want more battery backup and can compromise a
little on performance then you can use the Power Saver profile on Windows 7.
Open Start Menu > Control Panel > Power options > select Power Saver
profile. You can advance customize the profile clicking “change plan settings”.
10. Reduce LCD screen brightness – Did you know that the laptop display screen consumes the
most of your battery? Try to use a lower brightness level on laptop screen to
get the maximum battery backup.
Quick tips to
improve laptop battery life and get a better backup
- Disable Wi-Fi & Bluetooth on laptop when not in use.
- Don’t leave a DVD or a CD in the drive. Take it out when the work is complete.
- Make sure nothing is obstructing the air ventilation exhaust, a cool laptop will ensure a better laptop battery life. Avoid placing you laptop on places like bed, couch etc. Remember heating up will reduce your laptop battery life.
- Use batter bar laptop battery meter or the battery matter to keep a check on battery stats.
- If you have long working hours and excessively use your laptop or notebook then consider replacing your current laptop battery with a one with a larger capacity.
- De-fragment your hard drive occasionally.