Battery Tips

Our new laptop batteries come in a discharged condition and must be charged before use. Upon initial use (or after a prolonged storage period) the battery may require two to three charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity.

If the laptop battery will not be in use for a month or longer, it is recommended that it be removed from the device and stored in a cool, dry, clean place.

It is normal for a laptop battery to become warm during charging and discharging.

A charged laptop battery will eventually lose its charge if unused. It may therefore be necessary to recharge the battery after a storage period.

Here are some more tips to make your battery run longer -

1. Turn off Wi-Fi- Most laptops have shortcut keys to instantly disable wireless networking.
2. Disconnect all external device like PC Card modems, Firewire, USB devices and optical drives. Use the notebook touchpad instead of an external mouse.
3. Adjust your screen brightness - Dimming your display saves battery power.
4. Tweak Windows Power Options - Choose a Laptop power scheme that turns off the notebook monitor and hard disk after 10 minutes of inactivity.
5. Decrease or mute the Laptop Speaker Volume.
6. Turn off all scheduled tasks.
7. Turn off Auto-save features in Microsoft Office and other applications.
8. If your PC has Bluetooth, turn it off or disable it when not in use.
9. Programs that are run from a CD or DVD can be copied to and run from the hard drive, which typically consumes less power than an optical drive.
10. Don’t play computer games, music or DVD movies - Multimedia activities drain laptop batteries.

Here are some more tips to improve your laptop battery life -

1. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop.
2. Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing temperatures. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer. Hot batteries discharge very quickly, and cold ones can’t create as much power.
3. Completely drain and recharge the battery overnight once a month to maximize its capacity to hold a charge.
4. Fully charge new battery packs before use. New pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.
5. For laptops that work as Desktop Replacement, the battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge.
6. Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.

Longevity of high-power lithium-ion
Generally speaking, batteries live longer if treated in a gentle manner. High charge voltages, excessive charge rate and extreme load conditions will have a negative effect and shorten the battery life. This also applies to high current rate lithium-ion batteries.

Not only is it better to charge lithium-ion battery at a slower charge rate, high discharge rates also contribute the extra wear and tear. Figure 3 shows the cycle life as a function of charge and discharge rates. Observe the good laboratory performance if the battery is charged and discharged at 1C. (A 0.5C charge and discharge would further improve this rating.)

Battery experts agree that the life of lithium-ion depends on other factors than charge and discharge rates. Even though incremental improvements can be achieved with careful use of the battery, our environment and the services required are not always conducive to achieve optimal battery life. The longevity of a battery is often a direct result of the environmental stresses applied.

Simple Guidelines

• Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.
• Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.
• Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.
• Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)
• Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.
• If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.