Laptop Battery Care
The bane of most laptop users is the lack of a really long battery life.
There are three main types of laptop batteries:
a.. Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd)
b.. Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)
c.. Lithium Ion (Li-ion).
Nickel-Cadmium
This type of battery must be fully discharged and then fully recharged every few weeks. If you don't do this, it will quickly lose battery life due to what is known as the `memory effect'.
The memory effect means if you don't follow the above procedure, your battery will only charge up to the percentage of the last charge. For instance, if you discharge it to 30 per cent, it will only charge up the remaining 70 per cent. Do this repeatedly, and the 30 per cent will become unusable, giving you an effective 70 percent charge even though the indicator will still show a 100 per cent charge each time you charge it.
Nickel Metal Hydride
Ni-MH batteries are similar to Ni-Cd batteries, although they are less susceptible to the memory effect. They also have a higher capacity.
Lithium Ion
These are the latest type of batteries, and have no real problems as far as the memory effect is concerned. The problem with these is that they lose their effectiveness if overcharged or left for a long time with a full charge. Always discharge these batteries if you're going to be storing them away.
The bane of most laptop users is the lack of a really long battery life.
There are three main types of laptop batteries:
a.. Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd)
b.. Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)
c.. Lithium Ion (Li-ion).
Nickel-Cadmium
This type of battery must be fully discharged and then fully recharged every few weeks. If you don't do this, it will quickly lose battery life due to what is known as the `memory effect'.
The memory effect means if you don't follow the above procedure, your battery will only charge up to the percentage of the last charge. For instance, if you discharge it to 30 per cent, it will only charge up the remaining 70 per cent. Do this repeatedly, and the 30 per cent will become unusable, giving you an effective 70 percent charge even though the indicator will still show a 100 per cent charge each time you charge it.
Nickel Metal Hydride
Ni-MH batteries are similar to Ni-Cd batteries, although they are less susceptible to the memory effect. They also have a higher capacity.
Lithium Ion
These are the latest type of batteries, and have no real problems as far as the memory effect is concerned. The problem with these is that they lose their effectiveness if overcharged or left for a long time with a full charge. Always discharge these batteries if you're going to be storing them away.
Keep Your Battery Healthy
a.. Before the first use, charge the batteries for 12 hours or the minimum charge time, as mentioned in the manual.
b.. For daily use, charge the battery to capacity, then run the laptop on battery power until it is completely drained (for Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries, this prevents the memory effect) or almost drained. (For Li-ion batteries, this can help prevent overcharging).
c.. Don't leave your battery unused for long periods of time. Even if you use AC power most of the time, use the battery regularly to keep it in good condition. Switch off your AC adapter when the laptop is not in use. This prevents overcharging.
To extend battery life, you can try decreasing the LCD brightness while using your notebook. You can activate the `Standby' and `Hibernation' powersaving modes, too, for better battery life.
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