how to take good care of your laptop battery

how to take good care of your laptop battery


You probably know a few tricks for extending your laptop's battery life—whether it's dimming the screen or switching off Wi-Fi—but there are plenty of other ways you can and should look after its long-term health too. Here's how to get the most juice out of your laptop by following just a few simple rules.

Every laptop battery degrades over time, but you can help to make sure it stays in fine fettle to a ripe old age by heeding the advice we've laid out below. With some care and attention you can make sure your laptop needs replacing before its battery does.

Temperatures and cleaning

Operating temperatures can have a big impact on battery life: check the manufacturer's guidelines for the 'safe zones' for your laptop, which are usually different depending on whether you're storing your computer or actually using it. For an accurate read of how hot your laptop is, OS X users can turn to Temperature Gauge, which will set you back five bucks but give you more temp info than you'll know what to do with. Windows users might want to look at Rainmeter, a free system monitor that displays all kinds of visually pleasing goodies—temperature included.

Generally speaking, room temperature (or as close as you can get) is ideal. That means you shouldn't leave it lying in a packed trunk in the height of summer or on the window ledge of your skiing chalet. If you're at an uncomfortable temperature while you're working, then your laptop's battery will be too, so make adjustments accordingly.

Watch out for excessive heat, which is particularly unhealthy. If you have a tendency to use your laptop whilst wrapped up in bed or stretched out on a sweltering Caribbean beach then the battery's going to give up the ghost sooner. Keep it cool and on a flat, stable surface as much as possible, and make sure the cooling vents are clear and unobstructed. Invest in an extra stand or fan tray if necessary.

For those of you with a removable laptop battery, take it out and clean the metal contacts at either side once every couple of months with a dry cloth and alcohol solution—this helps to keep the transfer of energy to your computer as efficient as possible.

Keeping the juices flowing

To ensure the battery in your laptop has a long and healthy life, avoid leaving it constantly charged. It's important that the electrons inside are kept moving on a regular basis—think of it as being akin to getting up to exercise rather than sitting at a desk all day. Broadly speaking, the less frequently you use your laptop, the less frequent the discharges need to be.
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