Extending Battery Cycles (Life) of the Laptop battery ?

What is the ideal way of extending the battery cycles (life) of a notebook battery? If I am sitting on the desk whole day should I keep the laptop plugged to the power outlet or Should I unplug the laptop from the power Outlet once it is fully charged and then keep it for charging again after the battery drains to about 10% or so?

 

Some manufactures , allow you to charge to 80% instead of 100% , this should allow you to double the battery cycles at the expense of reduced runtime.

 

I was told (from members here) that batteries should be kept around 50-60% charge to maximize lifespan. You should check the threshold levels in Power Manager to set them to maximize lifespan. I have mine set to charge when below 55% and stop charging at 60%. That way, I have ~2.5 hrs available all the time and it really cuts down on cycles.

I am always plugged in at home, and run unplugged for about 1.5 hrs a couple times per week for class. I got my laptop one month ago and my cycle count is at 8, although I ran the battery a few times during the first week to see how long it would last if needed. If I didn't do that, my guess is that the cycle count would be half that.

 

You would have to do a deep discharge and full recharge every so often, otherwise you will wreck the battery.

 

Who says KEEP it at 50-60%? You actually want to use your battery too right? We normally just recommend you keep the start charging threshold at 50-60% (whatever really). It is so you don't continually top it off.

We also say stop it charging at 95%. But also do a full discharge and recharge once a month or something like lead_org said.

 

If your computer is at a desk the majority of the time, just discharge the battery to 40% and remove it. If you have a Thinkpad, in the power manager application you can set the charge thresholds. This is where you can have the system set so that it will not charge until the battery gets below a certain level. This itself will extend the life of the battery because it stops the constant topping off of the battery.

In the Power Manager app go to the battery tab, click on battery maintenance. From this window you can set custom charge thresholds. My settings is currently charge at 30% and stop at 95%. If your computer is constantly at the desk then you can start at 30% and stop at 60% and it will keep your battery around that happy medium where it won't degrade as fast.

Good luck.

 

Thanks. As I understand from all suggestions given I should ideally change the battery settings to start charging at 30% or so and stop charging at around 80%. Once a month I should engage in full discharge and charge it back to 100%. Should I remove the battery or not while performing this?

I am normally at the desk and connected to the power outlet 80 - 85% of the time. What is the ideal mode of charging the battery in my case to prolong its life?

 

I meant that the batteries best maintain their capabilities to hold a full charge if you try to have your charge around 50-60% as opposed to having the max level set to a higher percent. At least that's what I heard from numerous members on here.

So, what's the best thing to do if you are plugged in 95% of the time?

Min. threshold @ 50%, Max. threshold @ 60%?
Min. threshold @ 50%, Max. threshold @ 95%?

Being plugged in most of the time, there really isn't a need to have the full (or close to it) charge level, and if you are supposed to store your battery (i.e. not charging or discharging, plugged in no activity) around half charge to maximize lifespan, wouldn't 50-60% be sufficient?

I'm no battery expert, I'm just trying to sort through all the information that people here claim is correct, even though some claims are contradictory.

 

Here's an informative site: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

 

I misunderstood you then. My apologies.

If you are plugged in all the time I would just remove the battery. Heat kills batteries too.

 

Does anyone know if T400 throws out air from the bottom or the sides? I'm thinking if getting a cooling pad will be beneficial such as this one to keep the laptop cool in general and to extend the battery life by preventing overheating:

http://www.buy.com/prod/cooler-mast...ook-cooling-pad-with/q/loc/101/211418055.html

 

The vent is on the left back corner. There are four very small vents in that corner on the bottom of the laptop. The majority of the air in/out is on the sides of the laptop, with intake on the back side of the corner, and out on the left side of it. Personally, I don't think that a cooling pad will help you out at all in terms of cooling.

On a side note, your question really has nothing to do with this thread. Next time I think you should start a new thread in a similar situation.

 

I'll start a new thread. Thanks.

 

Back on topic, the way to maximize battery life is this:

1.) Do not leave the plugged in all the time. The tiny discharge/recharge eventually kill the battery; after a year you can lose 30% or more capacity. I even had one HP battery lose 90% capacity after one year of being plugged in most of the time.

(Power Manager, battery tab is a good place to see battery health; Full Charge Capacity divided by Design Capacity tell you how healthy your battery is. I've had a new battery for about 3 weeks, and it's at 98.6%

2.) Battery life is directly related to discharge and recharge cycles. The fewer, the better. If you want to maximize battery health, here is the tested, true way that is practical (i.e. running on only AC with no battery install is not practical for a portable laptop user):

-Once the battery is fully charged, remove the AC power, and use until you run down (say to 10% - not completely empty). Then plug in, charge up to 100%, and repeat. This will give you the best battery life.
If you are aggressive with your power settings (dim display after 1 min, screen off in 2, sleep in 5 min), you can really milk it.

Obviously you will have times when you can't follow this, in which you need to charge it full (ex before a trip, or when you know you won't have AC for a while), but again, if you follow the plan as much as possible, your battery life will be maximized.

That's it gents - anyone who claims anything else is smoking the pipe o' crack.

(I know this runs counter to what they say at Battery University, who I deeply respect, but I have over 10 years dealing with real-world battery scenarios, and this is the only that provides the best lifespans. (They do wear out.)

 

That is poppycock. A charge cycle is a charge cycle. It's not the level where you hover at, but how much you use and recharge. By staying at 50%, you are just forcing yourself to charge sooner.

 

My guess is that you didn't read my post after that, as both you and someone else misinterpreted it. Lithium ion batteries have the longest lifespan if kept around half charge, meaning that keeping your battery at a high or low charge level will more quickly deteriorate the battery's ability to store a full charge over time.

A charge cycle isn't whenever you charge the battery regardless of how much you charge it. If you charge your battery from 55% to 60% it doesn't have the same effect as charging from, say, 55% to 95%. It is much less stress on the battery and additionally does not create as much heat as charging to a higher level.

 

The NotebookReview.com battery guide can be found here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=91846

I've found it to be very useful.

 

Thanks for the link. It is very informative.

 

No Problem. I'm glad it helped

 

Li-Ion have the longest lifespan if wrapped up in stored in a freezer. Again, not practical.

If you actually use a laptop as a portable device, if you are plugged in AC and have the battery installed, whether you are the battery or not, it creates from heat. So keeping it at 50%, charging to 60%, then stopping, having it run down to 50%, then charge again to 60%, again, again and again creates more heat and more wear on the battery than charging to 100%, unplug from AC, then run down to 10%, recharge to 100%.

The guide in the other thread here is good, and supports my stated approach.

 

i want to change these settings, can someone tell me where to exactly go? i cant seem to find the power manager app and thus the battery tab

 

What laptop do you have? Power Manager is only on the ThinkPad line (not including the SL series).

Assuming you've got one of those models (with the drivers installed) you just need to double click on the battery icon in your taskbar.

 

i got a t400. i just get balanced or powersaver option when i click on it??

 

Well you should have left well enough alone. In fact, the only thing that should be clear to everyone by now is that there is no 100% solution that works for everyone and every application. Otherwise, your advice is well stated.

Good. Then you should know there are no absolutes when it comes to battery maintenance since no two environments are exactly the same. Only fundamentals.

 

Click on advanced view and click on the battery tab. Then you can set your thresholds.

 

is it under the settings for low battery level (which is found under advanced settings)?

 

While it is true that there are "no two alike", in reality, most environments/uses fall into semi-discrete categories. I don't believe "one rule for all" nor "there are no absolutes.

I buy a Big Mac in Chicago. I buy a Big Mac in SF. Are they the same? No. But are they close enough to be the same for the purpose of stuffing my pie hole? Absolutely.

If you have a laptop, and you are going to leave it plugged in all the time, then your battery will wear out faster. This generally not what most people do; they travel with their laptop, and run off the battery.

So for the most typical use scenario, my approach will maximize battery life.

I'm not saying that everyone uses this scenario, just that if you fall into the 80% that does, then you don't need to waste cycles trying to figure out the optimal strategy.

The pipe o' crack was perhaps a bit over the top, but my intent was that a lot of people assert things without historical/empirical evidence; it's sort of like the "well, I heard a friend of a friend say this is true, so this is true." The whole "keep if at 50% and charge to 60%" methods are something that should be on Snopes.

I only offer my experience/opinion, based on the past 10 years with hundred of laptops and batteries.

 

Did you do do a clean install and not install Power Manager or did you delete it? You need the Power Manager driver and software installed. Goto downloads and support on the lenovo site to download it.

If it is installed, double click the green battery icon on the task bar.

 

I'm not disputing any of that. Just adding a bit of clarification for those that might fall outside the "bell curve."


Oh, and by the way, the Mcdonald's reference wasn't the best one. In fact, the company takes extreme measures to make sure the hamburger you eat in Chicago tastes exactly the same as the one you eat in San Francisco! Nobody does a better job of this than McDonald's.

Now how'd we get from laptop batteries to taking about hamburgers?

 

Agreed on the outliers.

As for Big Macs. I've eaten too many across the country. They are not exactl the same (although the special sauce masks it). Lettuce, cheese and buns and beef do vary slightly by region.

And don't even think of eating a Whopper in Canada. It tastes like crap because the "beef" there is more like sawdust and veggie burger soaked in beef broth. USA Whooper tastes 100% better.

 

Whoopers hum yummy, damn i am working and there is no Burger King within a 1000 km radius..... i am in middle of nowhere.... i guess i have to eat a raw kangaroo burgers if i get desperate, or maybe the Red kangaroo would kill me in the hand to hand combat.......

 

Hi mikec, can you be a little more specific?

you say that "Battery life is directly related to discharge and recharge cycles. The fewer, the better". But then
"Once the battery is fully charged, remove the AC power, and use until you run down (say to 10% - not completely empty). Then plug in, charge up to 100%, and repeat"

So I'm wondering - should I do what you said about running down regularly (which increases a lot the number of charge/discharge cycles) or run it down only after using the battery for some time?

 

zeconas,

Good question. Let me clarify. It you keep the AC plugged in while the battery is plugged in, it lessens battery life due to heat (most laptops run at full bore when plugged into AC) and also to what I call "trickle death", where the constant charge to 100%, drain to 95%, recharge to 100% ends up shortening battery life.

Now, my method does two things. Keeps heat low, and "exercises" the battery. This maximizes battery life. Now, if you are always using your laptop at you desk, and run it 24/7, you should just remove the battery and run off of AC. However, if you are mobile, you should have the laptop set to go to sleep frequently. So even though I "run down" the battery to 10%, that can take a long time, as my laptop dim display after 1 min of non use, shuts off screen after 3 min, and goes to sleep after 5 minutes. So unless I am constantly on my laptop, the battery lasts a long time.

Hope that help lear it up.

 

Thanks.

The problem for me is that I use my laptop at a desk 95% of the time. But one of the things I like of having a battery while on AC is for surge protection (the battery takes the hit instead of the power supply) and for the occasional power failure...

I use Linux and there is also a way to specify a threshold for when to start charging. Do you think I should set that 10%?