Everybody is concerned about their laptop’s battery life. No one likes to run out of batteries. If you only have one battery, prioritize it with care.
Laptop battery life depends mainly on usage, the heavier load, and the faster the battery drains. As a general rule, stick to essential activities like checking email, reading or writing documents and, if possible, avoid gaming and streaming videos. Also, laptop users should run programs from the hard drive and not from a USB or disk.
Be aware that laptops, or computers in general, will work harder when the ambient temperatures is high. When you use your laptop, make sure you don’t block the laptop airflow.
Keep track of your battery’s life and take into account the following tips to restore maximum power in your battery.
1. Install software to monitor the battery: the software monitors the battery of your laptop and provides updated information. It is available on the market or already integrated in your laptop.
2. Defrag your hard drive, so it runs as efficiently as possible, with your laptop plugged in, not on battery power.
3. Reduce display brightness, so that high brightness doesn’t squeeze every last bit of power from your battery.
4. Use power management settings to reduce the amount of energy your laptop uses, especially when you’re not using it. Always set low times in power management for “turn off monitor” and “turn of display” options.
5. Reduce the number of programs that are active in the background: log out from everything you don’t need when operating on battery. Don’t work on multiple programs. Also, limit the graphics use. Your batteries will be drained before anything gets finished.
6. Use “hibernate” instead of “standby” to save a lot more power.
7. Limit the use of external devices, such as USB devices. Also, Wi-Fi connection will drain down your laptop battery. Turn off speakers and Bluetooth. Never charge your MP3 or iPod when your laptop is not plugged in.
8. Do not leave CD/DVD in the drive: CDs/DVDs consume more power than hard drives do.
9. Exercise your battery: Do not keep charged battery unused. You should use the battery weekly. Never allow a Li-On battery to completely discharge. Keep the battery contacts free of dust and debris. It is important not to overcharging your laptop by leaving power cable connected to outlet when it is not in use.
