The essence of a laptop is to be able to use it away from a power outlet, and the longer the better. Hence, although all its components are important (casing, screen, keyboard, connection ports, processor, memory, hard disk…), it is important to be able to use it away from a power outlet the battery is one of the parts that can suffer the most damage if it is not cared for with a certain amount of care.
A laptop battery can deteriorate if certain computer use precautions are not observed
And in this case the damage may not be very obvious. A bump on the screen is clearly visible and the wear on the keys as well, but it is not so easy to check if the battery of a laptop is being damaged by what the user may not know it is a misuse.
It is necessary to remember that the batteries have a number of cycles of load that suppose their “life” reason why in the menu of configuration and adjustments of the portable one it will be necessary to consult periodically the counter of these cycles and, according to the cases, the percentage of “useful” battery that is subtracting. A proper management of charge cycles allows to prolong the battery lifethe battery can be replaced if necessary if it deteriorates to the point of offering a short life when unplugged from the wall.
Hence, it is advisable to follow the indications listed below to improve the conservation of the battery and thus achieve a better performance of the notebook computer and that its autonomy is optimal for as long as possible so that the service life is as long as possible.
How to extend the life of your laptop battery
-Do not keep all applications open at the same time: Although it is obvious that it saves time by not having to wait for them to open, it would be advisable to open only those programs that are going to be used and, once the task is finished, close them instead of leaving them open in the background. In addition to consuming other computer resources (processor, RAM memory), background processes consume energy and, moreover, in tasks that do not represent the main activity to which the computer is dedicated, so the autonomy suffers.
-Keep software up to date: The various patches and updates in operating systems and programs fix many bugs that can sometimes correct improper operation of the equipment, including resource management and how they affect battery life or its recharging processes.
-Do not drain the battery: Although laptops are capable of working until their power reaches 0 % and they shut down it is not advisable to do this frequently. Instead, it should be avoided as much as possible to let the charge drop below 15/20% because of the additional stress on the battery components to recover the charge when it drops much below those levels. It is also not advisable to disconnect the laptop from the power supply when the charge reaches 100 % and wait for it to discharge while working with the laptop unplugged, even if you are not on the move. Laptops have long since been equipped with efficient charge management systems so that when the battery recovers 100% of its charge it is not necessary to disconnect it from the power supply so as not to overheat the battery, which stops recharging.
-Do not keep the screen brightness at maximum: Except for the processor for operations that require maximum power for a long time, nothing consumes more energy in a mobile device than the screen, so it would be advisable not to keep its brightness at maximum, especially if the lighting conditions in the environment allow to keep it lower (but without harming the user’s own eyesight). Obviously, the higher the brightness, the higher the energy consumption and the shorter the battery life.
-Do not keep the sound volume at maximum: With a significantly lower power consumption than the screen, the laptop speakers are also an important source of energy consumption which, as with brightness, also increases as it increases. In other words, the higher the sound volume, the higher the power consumption, the shorter the autonomy, the greater the need to recharge the battery and, over time, the shorter the battery life.
-Do not use the laptop as a charging base for other devices: Although it is clear that the USB-A and USB-C ports available on laptops can fulfill the mission of providing power to other devices and thus be able to charge your cell phone, headphones, camera and any other devices, getting power from your battery to provide it to the battery of another device is a bad idea, not only because it obviously reduces the laptop’s own load but because when it is produced in a faster way than that which would be derived from the computer’s own work it also puts additional wear on the battery.
-Avoid direct sunlight: Excessive cold and heat are enemies of batteries and electronic devices, so you should always work with the notebook in the shade, without direct sunlight, especially in times of high sunshine. This would raise the temperature of the device (which could also cause damage to the processor, as it could not be adequately cooled) and the battery, working at a high temperature, could be damaged or even rendered unusable.
