Most of us have switched to laptops by now, and we depend on them for study, work, and pleasure; they have become part of everyday life. It seems that even though it is portable, and gives way more freedom than a CPU tower, you end up having to be constantly plugged in to the wall. Below are a few tips to squeeze as much life out of your battery as possible.

The first tip is heat management. Extreme heat will cause the cells inside your battery to expand and bubble, too much heat to the battery over time, and the battery is going to last less and less. To stop this overheating you can start by simply not using your laptop directly from your lap. Having it on a flat surface allows it to ventilate properly, keeping it cooler. Keeping the lid open can also help your heat management.

The second tip, and probably most unknown fact of battery life cycles, is to not charge your battery up to 100%. Cadex Electronics CEO Isidor Muchmann recently told WIRED magazine that ideal is to charge your battery up to 80%, and let it drain down to 40%. This little trick can increase the life of your battery by four times! The reason behind it is a little technical, but basically each cell in the battery is charged to a voltage level. The higher the percentage, the higher the voltage level. The more voltage a cell has to store, the more stress it goes through, and results in less discharge cycles. A battery charged to 100% will have about 300-500 discharge cycles, while a battery charged to 70% will get 1,200-2,000 discharge cycle.

It seems easy enough, but keeping track of your battery percentage while focusing on work can be a real pain. There are currently no apps that warn you when you reach 80% or when the charge drops down to 40% (anyone out there is welcome to use this idea, you’re welcome). A possible solution would be to time how long it takes to charge from 40% to 80%, and set up a timer. The same goes for the discharge cycle.

 

Do you know any other tips to increase battery life? Let us know in the comments below!