Can you imagine a single day of your life without a laptop? This worry is what pushes us to be vigilant and keep a charged laptop battery at all times. because a dead laptop is of no use.
Being an entrepreneur, a laptop and the Internet are at the top of my list of must-haves. As far as the Internet is concerned, I look for flexible Internet deals. Other than that, I always make sure that my laptop’s battery is performing well.
Here are a few easy hacks that help to increase the life of a laptop battery:
Tips to Increase Laptop Battery Life
Laptops are a very convenient alternative to desktop PCs. They have more or less the same processing power and functionality, with the added advantage of portability. They can accomplish much more (especially when it comes to business tasks) than the average smartphone can handle. We use our laptops for work, learning, entertainment, and socializing.
Unfortunately, all of our activities can have an impact on the laptop’s battery life as time progresses. Over time, you may notice that your laptop loses battery juice much faster than it used to. This can become an annoyance and even a hindrance when you’re trying to work, study, or relax. But don’t worry. Here are some hacks that help me to increase the lifetime of my laptop’s battery:
1. Battery Saving Mode
Just like you would on your smartphones, activate the battery saving mode on your laptops as well. This will help to ensure that your battery does not get consumed at a fast rate. If you have Windows OS, then you can also view the percentage of battery available to you.
All you have to do is hover over the battery icon and see if the power saving mode is ON. If not, then you will have to. The power-saving mode optimizes battery consumption by turning off certain processes and changing specific settings to make your battery last longer.
However, note that you will still experience a performance loss if you are performing tasks that require more battery. For example, gaming, watching movies, or editing high-definition photos require a lot of processing power. Your laptop needs to handle a lot of information at the same time, making it work much harder than usual.
This means you will still lose battery percentage even if you have the battery saver mode turned on. On the other hand, if you are performing tasks that do not require much battery, then turning the laptop to power saving mode won’t make a difference. So, you would have to decide whether to turn the laptop to the power-saving mode or not, based on your activity.
2. Plugging In Before it Dies
Another hack that helps is plugging in your laptop before it dies. Many people wait until the battery dies down. Experts say that this practice is dangerous for your laptops. You should not let the battery go below a 20% charge mark. So, whenever you see that your laptop’s battery is approaching that mark, you should charge it. Doing so will prolong your battery’s life.
The logic behind this is that low charge puts a strain on the battery to perform to the same level as it would when fully charged. Thus, making the laptop lose its charging capacity in the long run.
3. Having Enough RAM
This suggestion comes from one of the most prominent laptop manufacturers – Dell. The company advises individuals to have enough RAM in their laptops to extend its battery life. If your laptop has enough RAM to perform all the tasks that you want it to, then you will be able to use it for longer than you would otherwise. Because having more RAM means that your laptop does not have to store everything in the hard drive. Thus, extending the battery life.
If you pay attention to this suggestion and do as asked, you will notice that it would become easier for you to retrieve data. Apart from that, you will be putting less pressure on the hard drive. This, in turn, would mean that your hard drive’s life would extend.
If you are wondering that what does this have to do with the life of the battery. Then you should know that using a hard drive drains your battery as well. So, if you do not put much load on it, your battery would live for long as well.
4. Not Keeping it Plugged In
In an earlier suggestion, I mentioned that you should plug in the laptop to power before it dies. However, this does not mean that you keep it plugged in at all times. Researchers suggest that a laptop that is always plugged in has a fewer number of charging cycles than the ones that are not plugged in all the time. You should think of a cycle as the battery getting drained and getting fully recharged again. The ideal battery cycle is to keep your battery moving between 20% and 80%.
It is essential for your laptop to have these cycles. And if you keep it plugged in at all times your laptop’s battery health would get affected and you do not want that. Many laptops these days have a smart charging option as well. This feature uses more advanced charging technology to allow you to charge your laptop faster than the older models. Thus, this feature completely eliminates the need for keeping your laptop plugged in at all times.
5. Turning Down Screen Brightness
Yes, the level of screen brightness affects your battery life as well. Most of the time, if not all, having a high level of screen brightness is not really necessary. And researches suggest that you should keep your laptop on low brightness mode whenever you can.
Because the display settings have a direct impact on your laptop’s battery life. Brightness is just one of the many display settings that may be having an effect on your laptop battery. There may be several others that could be a drain on your battery performance.
Apart from that, you should also opt for the setting that switches off your display after some time while you are not using it. This helps to save the battery. And keeps it in a healthy position. I was not used to doing this. Often, I would start watching TV and enjoy the premium channels included in my TV choice package while my laptop’s screen would still be switched on. However, now I am more mindful and make it a point to switch it off.