Batteries Global Blog

The light emitted by the laptop display consumes a considerable amount of energy and it is for this reason that you need to use the right level of screen brightness. And then, let’s face it: if you use the laptop mainly at home, in the office or in any case in environments not exposed to particularly intense light sources, it is unlikely that you need to have the brightness of the screen always at maximum.

Not sure how to turn down the brightness of your display? I guarantee you that it is a very simple operation: if you use a Windows laptop, for example, you can act directly on the keyboard by pressing the Fn key on it and then pressing one of the two keys in which the sun symbol is depicted. Unfortunately I cannot give you precise indications in this regard because the position of the keys in question varies from laptop to laptop; some manufacturers, for example, allow you to adjust the brightness by pressing the F2 and F3 keys, while still other manufacturers have assigned this function to the F11 and F12 keys.

If you want, you can also adjust the brightness level from the Windows Control Panel. If your computer is updated to Windows 10, type “change brightness level” in the search field located at the bottom left, click on the first result that is offered to you and, in the window that opens, use the cursor under the heading Change brightness to adjust the level of brightness you prefer and which is more suitable for your surroundings.

Initially extremely performing – the top-of-the-range models guarantee autonomy that touches, and in some cases exceeds, 10 hours – laptop batteries can end up degrading quite quickly. After a year, in fact, the autonomy drops drastically and in some cases it could be reduced by half.

However, a lot also depends on how you use your laptop and how you “treat” the battery. As with your smartphone, in fact, some precautions are needed to avoid damaging the laptop battery and preserve it. , thus, autonomy and duration.One of the most effective tricks, in this case, is to better manage the charge and discharge cycles: each battery, in fact, has a finite number of recharge cycles (usually between 800 and 1,000) , beyond which it will no longer be able to fully charge.Finding out whether it is advisable to keep the battery charged while using the laptop or whether it is better to remove the battery when the device is plugged in could make all the difference.

Proper management of the battery charge and discharge cycles will make it possible to lengthen its life and prevent its autonomy from being significantly reduced after a few months of use. As demonstrated by various studies on the subject – not least, the one carried out by Battery University – a lithium-ion battery should never be fully recharged or completely discharged. A 100% recharge, in fact, will reduce the “life cycles” available to the accumulator, while limiting oneself to 80-90% charges will be able to optimize everything, succeeding in doubling (or almost) the life expectancy of the battery. drums.

Heat is a major cause of degraded and short-lived batteries. In fact, temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius cause the chemical bonds between the lithium ions to deteriorate quickly and break, thus limiting the battery’s charging capacity. The production of heat, however, is also one of the “secondary effects” of recharging the batteries: in short, the longer the batteries are recharged, the more one runs the risk of reducing their life expectancy. for three months above 40 degrees centigrade – just to give an example – it is calculated that it will lose about 35% of its storage capacity (and autonomy, consequently).

Despite efforts in this direction, there is no single and unambiguous indication of whether you can keep your computer constantly charged while working or playing. In fact, each manufacturer provides more or less different indications on the behavior to be followed: some state that it is not necessary to remove the battery even once it has reached the desired charge level (so much so that some models do not have a removable battery); others, on the other hand, recommend unplugging the power once the battery is sufficiently charged.

However, the ultimate decision rests with the user. In case you decide to keep the battery constantly under charge, check that the ambient temperature is not high and that the heat dissipation systems of the PC work perfectly. If, on the other hand, you choose to remove the battery, you need to make sure that it is approximately 50% charged: higher or lower values could definitively compromise its operation.

Like all batteries, lithium-ion cells age and degrade over time and with use. To prolong battery life and performance, try keeping the battery level between 20% and 80% several times a week instead of using the device for a short time and then plugging it in to recharge the battery. If your device supports smart charging, turn it on to make sure your device stays charged to the recommended battery level, even if you keep your device plugged in.

When using the battery, it is advisable to avoid certain conditions because they can cause the battery to deteriorate and age at a faster rate:

Try not to use your device or charge it in high temperatures. Extremely high temperatures can cause lithium-ion batteries to deteriorate at an accelerated rate, which can permanently reduce battery capacity.

Store the device with the battery charged below 50% but not completely discharged. More charged and then stored batteries may lose capacity faster. If you need to store your device for a long time, you’d better make sure the battery level is below 50% but not completely drained before storing your device.

When a battery is badly degraded, the life of the battery may be very short or the Li-ion cells may expand. When a battery expands due to deterioration, it is most often caused by the formation of non-flammable carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. If the battery in your device has visibly expanded beyond the mechanical housing, you should stop using your device. It is advisable to handle the device with caution to avoid putting pressure on or puncturing the battery cell.

When the battery capacity is lower, the battery cannot be charged as soon as it was last. As a result, battery life may be shortened and you will need to recharge the battery more frequently.

Lithium-ion batteries are the most commonly used battery type in today’s mobile devices, including laptops and tablets. These batteries charge quickly, discharge at a constant rate, and have a high energy density that allows for small cell sizes in batteries.

By understanding Li-ion batteries a bit, you can optimize the battery life and overall battery life in your device:

The capacity of Li-ion cells is reduced after a certain number of times the battery is charged and discharged. This means that you will need to recharge the battery more often and the overall battery capacity may be less.

When using the device, make sure that the battery regularly discharges below 50%. This will reduce deterioration of the battery cells.

First of all, I need to explain to you how a smartphone battery works.

This way, you will better understand why it allows your phones to last longer. The explanations are a little scientific, but nothing very complicated in reality. The batteries of our smartphones work with so-called Lithium-ion. When the battery is charged, lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. When the battery is discharged, the lithium ions move in the opposite direction. It is thanks to the circulation of ions towards the electrodes that the electric current is created and supplies our telephone. What must be remembered above all is that the passage of ions from one electrode to another represents a charge cycle. And each phone has a limited number of charge cycles. Generally and with current technologies, this number is at least 2000 charges. This represents on average 10 years of charge. But over time, the battery electrodes start to wear down causing the ions to flow less well. This reduces the storage capacity until it no longer works at all.

The problem is that certain bad charging habits accelerate the natural wear of the battery.

This little trick will not be revolutionary but will save your battery a few minutes of life. The “energy saving” mode, which can be activated in the settings, makes it possible to restrict certain functionalities of the phone, such as the use of Bluetooth or GPS when the screen goes to sleep. It can also reduce brightness, limit automatic downloads, receive emails, or refresh apps in the background.