Most modern laptops use a lithium ion battery. These batteries have a typical shelf life of two to three years with estimates of a 20% loss in capacity every year. These numbers aren’t very encouraging for a laptop owner, however there are several methods for extending a laptop’s battery life that most of us are unaware of.

I was somewhat sceptical when researching the topic, expecting that extending the life cycle of a laptop battery would be a hassle (and indeed some of the suggestions feel that way at first), however there are some interesting findings and simple tips that one can follow to do just that.

Here is an interesting article about prolonging battery life. It uses somewhat technical jargon so I’ll go ahead and interpret the findings into more common terms.

You should be using your battery regularly. If you’re using your laptop on AC power, most sources recommend unplugging the battery and storing it in a cool place, such as your fridge (but not your freezer, cold is good but freezing is bad).

Several sources also recommend never keeping it fully charged if you’re using your AC adapter. The downside of a fully charged battery seems to be a higher temperature, and thus a quicker degradation. Expect a brief guide on how to ensure your adapter keeps your battery life at the % you want it at soon!

Once again however, it should be repeated; use your battery. Several sources agree that you should use your battery until it’s at 10-20% juice left then recharge it at least once every two or three weeks. Fully using the battery isn’t recommended for Lithium Ion batteries; however some sources recommend emptying it out after a certain amount of partial charges (20-30 or more in some cases) and then fully re-charging it. Users such as myself, who use the laptop much like a desktop, always plugged into the AC adapter, seldom if ever actually use their batteries, which may explain why my old laptop's battery died after exactly two years.

These seem to be the most important methods in extending the life of your battery, however there exist some minor tricks you can use as well.

Changing your power settings; you can adjust the profile you wish to use to maximize battery life for the sake of performance. Simply right click your battery icon and select properties then select one of the profiles available.

Lower your screen’s brightness; pretty straightforward, less brightness means less energy being consumed.

Turn off virtual memory; virtual memory means your computer uses parts of your hard disk as temporary ram. Communicating to your disk is energy intensive.

Be economical; this is pretty straightforward, if you're running your laptop on its battery, try to run fewer things, try to use less peripheral devices, be as conservative with what you use as possible.

Considering many people don't get extended warranties and that replacement batteries can sometimes set you back 200$, these are tips we would all benefit from trying.

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