How to get the most out of your laptop battery
Buying a good battery is only the first step. Here is how to make the one you already have last considerably longer.
There are many things laptop owners weigh up when buying or using their device, and one of the most important is the battery and how long it lasts. We all naturally want our laptop batteries to last as long as possible, and while buying a quality battery is the first task, there are several habits that will extend the life of the one you already have.
At Doctor PC we supply a wide range of laptop batteries. Beyond prioritising battery life when buying a new machine, what can you do to optimise it on any laptop? Here are some general tips.
Don't charge to 100%
Tempting as it is to charge to full, this is one of the less healthy things you can do to a battery. In general it is best to keep the charge somewhere between 20% and 80%.
That lets the battery hold a higher capacity over time while rarely discharging completely, which is also damaging. If a battery spends too long overcharged, it starts degrading faster.
Unplug when you can
Once the laptop is charged and you are no longer tied to a socket, disconnect the power cable. Even when it is not in use, a plugged-in laptop keeps drawing power.
If you are running on battery and do not need to be plugged in, unplug as soon as you reasonably can.
Lower screen brightness
This is an easy way to gain a little extra runtime without hurting your productivity. Simply lower the brightness until it is comfortable but not straining, and you will find the battery lasts noticeably longer.
You can go a step further by enabling automatic brightness, which dims the screen in darker environments and saves power — helping the battery last longer still.
Close background applications
When you are not using an application, there is no reason to keep it running in the background. Every running application draws some power, even if you are not actively using it. To conserve battery, close everything you are not using.
You may be surprised by the difference this makes, especially if you routinely keep a lot of applications open at once.