The power management technologies in Windows 7 provide platform and processor efficiencies that reduce power consumption and can help lower energy costs. It also provides a better user experience with longer battery life for specific scenarios.
However here are some Tips and FAQs on how to use your laptops battery properly:
- Do I need to fully discharge and charge the battery?
In lithium-based batteries this is in fact a myth, it only applies to older Niquel-based batteries. So fully discharging and charging the battery is completely useless and even harmful. Lithium Ion batteries do not suffer from “memory effect”, a poor performing laptop battery may be caused by damage or age which means time for a new one.
Lithium Ion batteries have anywhere from 300-600 charge cycles which is 2-4 years of use for the average user.
- Should I remove the battery when A/C is plugged in?
Many laptop users have this question and we will answer it right now: The answer is: YES and NO, it depends on the situation.
Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop.
However there’s a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is plugged in, but only if it’s currently suffering from excessive heating caused by the laptop hardware.
- Full battery discharges (until laptop power shutdown, 0%) should be avoided, because this stresses the battery a lot and can even damage it. It’s recommended to perform partial discharges to capacity levels of 20~30% and frequent charges, instead of performing a full discharging followed by a full charging.
Some would have you believe you need to fully discharge a laptop battery before you recharge it, which you should NOT do. Lithium Ion laptop batteries have a limited amount of charge cycles (cycle = fully discharged and then fully charged) so if you fully discharge your battery every time before charging then you greatly shorten the life of the pack.
- To store a battery for long periods of time, its charge capacity should be around 40% e be stored in a as fresh and dry as possible. A fridge can be used (0ºC – 10ºC), but only if the battery stays isolated from any humidity. One must say again that the battery’s worst enemy is the heat, so leaving the laptop in the car in a hot summer day is half way to kill the battery.
Source: WindowsClub
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