Is the laptop battery quickly damaged if you continue to use it when charging?
There are many things you can do to increase your laptop battery life. But is there a way you can do to extend the life of a laptop battery?
It is one of the questions that are often discussed, so the question reappears: Is it better to keep your laptop battery install, or do you have to use it when the battery is being filled?
The answer is not entirely direct. Let's see.
Get to know better about your laptop battery
There are two main types of batteries used on laptops: lithium-ion and lithium-polymer. Even though they are two different technologies, they function widely in the same way, with the power created by the electron movement. This flow also helps to keep a healthy battery.
For both types of batteries above, the following statement below is true (for modern laptops):
- A laptop battery cannot be filled again when it's already in full condition. And there is no danger about the battery if you leave it installed all the time. Because once he reached 100% charging, the battery will stop charging and will not start again until the voltage fell below a certain level.
- Use of a laptop battery until the power will damage it. If you use a laptop until a laptop battery completely runs out for a certain period can place it into a state of discharge, which might never recover.
So, based on this, we conclude that you can leave your laptop installed all the time? Not too.
Things that damage lithium batteries
The truth about lithium-based batteries is that they are inherently unstable. They began to lose capacity from the moment they were produced, and many factors accelerate their decline. including:
- Charge / discharge cycle. Each battery has a limited amount every time it is filled and emptied.
- Voltage level. The higher the level of charging (measured in volt per cell), the shorter battery life.
- High temperature, more than 30 degrees Celsius. This can cause damage that cannot be repaired.
The last two things above are the things we care about most about this. A comprehensive study conducted by the University of Battery highlighted how voltage and high temperatures will shorten the battery life in isolation, and even more when these two factors are combined.
Charging level
Lithium-ion batteries are filled up to 4.20V / cell, which amounts to 100% of capacity. At this level, the battery will have an age of around 300-500 debit cycles.
Each reduction of 0.10V / cell in the charge will double the number of discharge cycles, until optimum reaches: 3.92v / cell, with 2400-4000 discharge cycles. Unfortunately, at this level the battery is only charged 58%, so the runtime will be slightly more than half of the battery is fully charged.
Hot temperature
And then there is heat. High temperatures, which are usually classified as more than 30 degrees Celsius, will shorten the battery life regardless of other factors. For example, you leave a laptop in the car on a summer afternoon is a bad idea.
When high-temperature stress is combined with stress, the effect will be bigger. The test from the University of Battery shows that the battery stored with power less than 40% at a temperature of 40 degrees will drop the battery life capacity of up to 85% after one year of usage.
High temperatures are not the only environment. The use of intensive tasks such as gaming or video editing will greatly increase the heat level, and use a laptop on a pillow will trap hot too.
Should I disconnect the Battery of the Laptop?
To prevent such danger, many another question arises. What if you disconnect the battery from the laptop and use the laptop power on AC power?
This is not possible if you're using a laptop-type battery that is sealed.
This all boils down to setup power management on the laptop. Some things may reduce power when the battery is not present, and it can also leave the performance below standard, but not significantly.
If You choose to remove the battery, make sure you store them properly to have a power load between 40% to 70% and stored at room temperature.
Recommendations
The manufacturer of the laptop overall does not seem to settle on one answer to the question about whether it is okay to use your laptop on AC or battery power.
We have seen manufacturers Acer recommend unplugging the battery when using the laptop with the AC. But Dell says there is no problem leaving a laptop plugged in all the time.
While Apple recommends leaving the laptop battery plugged all the time. So it takes the conclusion to us to be more intelligent in the use of the laptop.
The user's choice will make the laptop or a notebook is like a train that stops at every station to charge. For example, you are using a laptop and when power was already below 40%, then plugs the charger to charge, this makes the battery juice flowing.
Leave your laptop battery hold attached will not cause short-term damage, but if You use it continuously on AC Power while the battery is installed, you will almost certainly find that after a year the battery capacity has been significantly reduced.
Similarly, if you are rarely using it to charge the battery, you will pass through the cycle of the battery discharge more quickly. So, the best solution is something of a compromise between the two options:
- Use the battery Charger once power is below 40 %, unplug the charger if it reaches 100% if you want to use it again.
- And make sure your Laptop is not in the condition of very hot when in use.