Laptop Battery Life
http://live.pirillo.com – Michael Trimm asks "Chris, I’ve had a Dell laptop for about 3 years. The battery life was 4 hours when I first got it, but now it’s a little more than an hour – any idea why?"
There could be a lot of reasons why your battery only lasts an hour:
- Did you charge the battery when you first got it?
- Did you regularly fully discharge the battery or did you keep it plugged in all the time?
- Finally, the battery is three years old: it might be time that you get a new battery.
If it is time to get a new battery, you may want to consider what proper care of a Lithium-Ion Battery includes. Battery University has a great article on how you can prolong the life of your battery:
Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is being improved continuously. New metal and chemical combinations are being tried every six months to increase energy density and prolong service life. The improvements in longevity after each change will not be known for a few years.
A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
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4 Comments
Michael Trimm
May 25th, 2007
at 9:08pm
Thanks Chris!
Michael Trimm
January 2nd, 2008
at 3:33pm
Thanks Chris! I never posted this before, but your video really helped explain things!
I’ve solved the problem in a new way: I bought a Mac! :-)
The Dell was falling apart (software AND hardware) and it was time for a new one! And so, I switched over to the Mac side (and I love it!)
Keep up the great work!
battery
April 9th, 2008
at 6:16pm
• Don’t leave your laptop plugged in to AC power with a fully charged battery. It’s the heat that kills ‘em, so don’t leave them in hot cars either.
• If you’re not using them, it’s best to store batteries at about 40% charge, and as cool as possible. Never store them for long periods completely discharged or they might not recharge at all.
vicki
August 12th, 2009
at 3:07pm
this was real help full information, however I’m still a little confused.
If I’m using the plug in should I remove the battery? Will it hurt the battery if I remove it for desk use with it at 100%
Thanks much
Vicki