Whats the proper battery etiquette?

Hey!
I'm a new Mac user, and generally new to using batteries on a laptop since I used my other as a desktop replacement, so it was just always plugged in.

I just got the Macbook Air 13", and i'm wondering how to take best care of the battery to get the most out of it. I'll be using it mostly at home and have the option to have it plugged in 90% of the time if I want to - so should I? Or is it considered more ideal to let it run on the battery and drain it after charging it? What is the optimal way to do it? Or does it just not matter at all?
Thanks!

 

keeping it plugged in as much as possible is best for it. It only has so many cycles in it. I think the pros and airs are rated for 1000 full discharges?

Also keep it from getting really hot or really cold. That reduces life.

 

i thought Apple said 5000 ...
not using the battery is bad too.... try to do at least 1 full cycle per month.

 

I use the batteries everyday, like before bed, then let it sleep at night without being plugged in. But i don't drain very much of it. Rest of the time i've kept it plugged in (during the day).

 

Here's a good source:
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks

-Use battery between 50F and 95F.
-When you get the battery, charge to full.
-DO use the battery often and recharge to full, topping off between uses.
-Try not to let battery get too low (below 20%) too often.
-DO charge to full/discharge to below 20% at least once/month.
-When it gets to below 20%, try to make sure it gets recharged that day.
-If you must store device with battery long-term, store with 50% battery or so.

The above is consistent with normal Li-ion battery usage.

 

Do at least 1 cycle per month as what doh123 said.

One more thing
-Don't game or do F@H at battery <-- This makes it run hot

 

keep it in normal temperatures

make sure the battery goes through a full cycle once a month (100% -> 90% -> 100% x10 counts as one cycle, as does 80%->20%->70%->30%->80%)

if you drain the battery completely, charge it back up

 

Ah ok.. I was wondering about that. If I use only 50% then charge up if that counts as a "full charge/cycle".. But then I need to do that twice for it to count as 1, correct?

 

yes, "cycles" count as a full charge cycle, not just a partial. I don't know the exact method Apple uses, but it would have to add up to near 100%

 

yes. two half cycles = one full cycle. make sure you do at least one full cycle per month. you can use it more than that as well, but the minimum is one cycle / month. given normal use, you'll probably end up using significantly more than one cycle per month, which is fine. the point is, don't store the device for more than a month without putting it through a cycle if you can help it.