There’s a lot to be said for a good laptop. It’s about choosing the best investment for an on-the-move business. However, there’s one overwhelming issue that laptops have never been able to quite fix: the battery life! It doesn’t matter if you’re using a laptop manufactured by Dell, HP or Lenovo but, anyone who plans to use their laptop for years to come needs to make sure that they do what they can to keep the battery going for as long as possible. How best to prolong lifespan of laptop battery depends on the measures you are taking to maximize the lifespan of your laptop’s battery. These tips should help you do so:
DON’T RUN IT RIGHT DOWN
Most modern laptop batteries are Lithium Ion. Swanky name, eh? The trouble with the Lithium Ion batteries, though, is that they can legitimately be strained if they’re forced down to their last dregs of power. As a result, they are less able to hold a charge for a long period of time. Fortunately, this can be easily solved by heading into the Power Options setting and adjusting the critical battery level. If you set this at about 5%, then the battery will never run right down.
TRY TO AVOID OVERHEATING
Anyone who’s sat with a laptop actually on their lap will testify to the fact that they get very warm after a while! The best way to minimize the risk of the battery overheating and losing life as a result is to make sure that the laptop’s vents are unblocked. So keep it away from your lap! It’s also a good idea to clean the vents with a can of compressed air (available for only a couple of pounds or so) every now and then. Needless to say, this should only be done when turned off. This is another way to make sure your laptop’s battery stays in good health.
GIVE IT A HOLIDAY
There are some situations where you know you’ll be constantly plugged into AC power for a week or so – maybe your main computer is being repaired, or maybe it’s just broken! In this situation, it’s actually a good idea to remove the battery (when the computer is off) to give it a break and just run off the mains power. The only thing to remember is that if you do this, make sure that you let the battery charge for a few hours when you finally put it back in, so that it’s given the necessary time to regain full power. Even on a break, though, it shouldn’t be allowed to empty out completely: use it at least once a month or so, even when you don’t need to.
MINIMIZE POWER WHERE YOU CAN
It’s a good idea to try and extend the time between charges, as the less your battery is charged and emptied, the longer it will last. The longer you can keep the laptop running without AC power the better. Fortunately, there are a number of easy ways in which to do this: dimming your screen, shutting down programs that you’re not using, avoid running numerous tasks at once, avoid using multimedia software (if you desperately need to listen to music, then use your mP3 player). The less your battery is plugged in, the longer it’ll keep going.
