Laptop and Battery life

shad0wboss

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Mar 20, 2010
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I see many threads where people ask about whether they should do this or that to conserve their battery life. SO here's a question i didn't have an answer to. I know that heat is the biggest enemy of these Li-ion batteries but

1. what if the batteries are cooled down using laptop cooling pads and the battery is kept connected to the AC, does discharge cycle still counts?

2. What would be better, either to leave the AC plugged in at home or just keep letting the battery drop to mid 40s then charge it to 80s then to 40s and so...
 
1) Yes the charging cycles are still counted - those cycles are very short and take longer to add up than if plugged in/unplugged constantly.
2) If the laptop has "battery conditioning" (most do) power then leaving it plugged in is fine. If the laptop cannot condition the battery and is constantly trying to charge the battery (less common now), the battery's lifespan will be drastically reduced.
My best recommendation for extending battery life is to keep the laptop plugged in without the battery inserted. Put battery in laptop about once a week just to top off the charge (and then remove it once charged all the way) so it will be charged when needed for travel.
This article on Li-Ion batteries is a little helpful I think
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
Hope it helps
 

shad0wboss

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Mar 20, 2010
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Thing is, i only have excess to AC power 24/7 over the weekends only because during working days, i need laptop for my classes so it is mostly on battery + taking out and inserting in the battery every time at least twice a week would just loosen the socket, no?
 
In your situation, just keep plugged in when not lugging around to class. There should be no additional wear and tear on the battery doing that. As far as using a laptop cooler when charging the battery, that is a good idea since charging does produce heat of it's own.
 

tanya_sharma

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Jun 11, 2013
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Hey there!
you can read the following article. I found it really helpful. Hope it answers all your queries too :)

here is the link: http://techwikasta.com/2013/01/tips-to-extend-your-laptops-battery-life/