11/9/2016

BatteryCareProperlaptopbatteryusageguide
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Properlaptopbatteryusageguide

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Memoryeffect
ShouldIremovethebatterywhenA/Cisplugged
in?
Batterydischarges
Howtoperformacalibration(fulldischarge)
Prolongedstorage
Purchasingareplacementbattery
AdvantagesinusingBatteryCare
BatteryCareFAQ

MemoryEffect
First of all it's necessary to unfold a myth that persists in many peoples
head.
Thebatterymemoryeffect.
In lithiumbased batteries this is in fact a myth, it only applies to older
Nicklebased batteries. So fully discharging and charging the battery is
completelyuselessandevenharmfulaswewillseebelow.

ReadwhatBatteryCarehastosay...

Themodernlithiumbatterycanbechargedregardlessofitscurrentpercentage,giventhatithasabsolutelynonegativeeffectin
itsperformance.

ShouldIremovethebatterywhenA/Cispluggedin?
Manylaptopusershavethisquestionandwewillansweritrightnow:
Theansweris:YESandNO,itdependsonthesituation.
Havingabatteryfullychargedandthelaptoppluggedinisnotharmful,becauseassoonasthecharge level reaches 100% the
batterystopsreceivingchargingenergyandthisenergyisbypasseddirectlytothepowersupplysystemofthelaptop.
However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is plugged in, but only if it's currently
sufferingfromexcessiveheatingcausedbythelaptophardware.
So:
In a normal usage, if the laptop doesn't get too hot (CPU and Hard Disk around 40C to
50C)thebatteryshouldremaininthelaptopsocket
In an intensive usage which leads to a large amount of heat produced (i.e. Games,
temperaturesabove60C)thebatteryshould be removed from the socket in order to prevent
unwantedheating.
Theheat,amongthefactthatithas100%ofcharge,isthegreatenemyofthelithium battery
andnottheplug,asmanymightthinkso.

Batterydischarges
Fullbatterydischarges(untillaptoppowershutdown,0%)shouldbeavoided,becausethisstressesthebatteryalotandcaneven
damage it. It's recommended to perform partial discharges to capacity levels of 20~30% and frequent charges, instead of
performingafulldischargingfollowedbyafullcharging.
Laptop batteries contain a capacity gauge that allows us to know the exact amount of energy stored. However, due to the
charging/dischargingcycles,thissensortendstobeinaccurateovertime.
SomelaptopsincludeintheirBIOS,toolstorecalibratethisbatterygauge,whichisnothingmorethanafulldischargefollowed
byafullcharge.
So to calibrate the gauge, it should be performed, in every 30 discharge cycles, a full discharge nonstop , followed by a
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BatteryCareProperlaptopbatteryusageguide

also,nonstop,fullcharge.
An inaccurate gauge can lead to the fact that the the battery capacity
values are are wrong. The battery may report that it still has 10% of
capacity when in fact it has a much lower value, and this causes the
computertoshutdownunexpectedly.
Discharge (or charge) cycles consist of using all that battery charge
(100%)butnotnecessarilyallatonce.
Forexample,youcanusethelaptopforsomeminutes
inaday,usinghalfitscapacityethenfullychargeit.
Ifyoudidthesamethinginthenextday,itwould be
countedadischargecycleandnottwo,soitmaytake
severaldaysuntilafulldischargecycleiscompleted.

Howtoperformacalibration(fulldischarge)?
Themostadequatemethodtodoafulldischarge(100%toaminimumof3%)consistsofthefollowingprocedure:

1.Fullychargethebatterytoitsmaximumcapacity(100%)
2.Letthebattery"rest"fullychargedfor2hoursormoreinordertocooldownfromthechargingprocess.Youmayuse
thecomputernormallywithinthisperiod
3.Unplug the power cord and set the computer to hibernate automatically at 5% as described by the image sequence
below(clickimagestoenlarge).Ifyoucannotselect5%,thenyoushouldusetheminimumvalueallowed,butnever
below5%

4.Leave the computer discharging, nonstop, until it hibernates itself. You may use the computer normally within this
period
5.Whenthecomputershutsdowncompletely,letitstayinthehibernationstatefor5hoursorevenmore
6.PlugthecomputertotheA/Cpowertoperformafullchargenonstopuntilitsmaximumcapacity(100%).Youmayuse
thecomputernormallywithinthisperiod.
Afterthecalibrationprocess,thereportedwearlevelisusuallyhigherthanbefore.Thisisnatural,sinceitnowreportsthetrue
currentcapacitythatthebatteryhastoholdcharge.LithiumIonbatterieshavealimitamountofdischargecycles(generally200
to300cycles)andtheywillretainlesscapacityovertime.
Many people tend to think "If calibrating gives higher wear level, then it's a bad thing". This is wrong, because like said, the
calibrationismeanttohaveyourbatteryreportthetruecapacityitcanhold,andit'smeanttoavoidsurpriseslike,forexample,
beinginthemiddleofapresentationandsuddenlythecomputershutsdownat30%ofcharge.

Prolongedstorage
Tostoreabatteryforlongperiodsoftime,itschargecapacityshouldbearound40%anditshouldbestoredinaplaceasfresh
anddryaspossible.Afridgecanbeused(0C10C),butonlyifthebatterystaysisolatedfromanyhumidity.
Onemustsayagainthatthebattery'sworstenemyistheheat,soleavingthelaptopinthecarinahotsummerdayishalfwayto
killthebattery.

Purchasingareplacementbattery
Ifyouintendtopurchaseanotherbattery,it'srecommendedthatyoudoitonlywhenthecurrentbatteryisverydegraded.Ifit's
notthecase,thenonusageofabatteryleadstoitsdegradation.
Ifasparebatteryispurchasedandwon'tbeusedforalongtime,theabovestoragemethodshouldbeused.
Besidesthat,whenpurchasingabatteryyoumustpayattentiontothemanufacturingdate.

AdvantagesinusingBatteryCare
BatteryCare allows you to have the control over the discharge cycles number, and when this reaches 30 (or other configured
value),itnotifiesyouthatit'stimetoperformafulldischargeinordertokeepthebatterygaugecalibrated.
Likethis,it'sguaranteedtoalwayshavethecorrectcapacityvaluesreportedbythebattery.
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Besides, when using the battery, there's the possibility to suspend some Operating System features that help degrading the
autonomy(onlyinWindowsVistaorhigher):
WindowsAero,thethemethatallowsforvisualeffectslikewindowtransparency,requiresgraphicscardacceleration,which
obviouslywillhelpdecreasingthebatterylifetime
SuperFetch,ReadyBoostandSearchIndexerarethreeWindowsVista(andhigher)servicesthat,eveninbatterymode,are
usingtheharddiskalotandincreasetotalpowerconsumption,thusdecreasingbatterylifetime.Suspendingtheseserviceshas
absolutelynonegativeimpactontheperformanceorsecurityofthesystem.
ThesefeaturesareresumedoncethelaptopispluggedintoA/Cpower.

Externallinks:
Mainreference
Apple.com
Tablewithinformationaboutothertypesofbatteries

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