As more and more people are becoming part of the mobile

workforce and using laptop or tablet PC’s battery life is often

a primary concern. Today’s portable computers use lithium-ion

batteries instead of older style nickel-cadmium power sources.

In addition to being able to hold a greater charge, lithium is

also very light weight, another important concern for portable

computers.

When you are purchasing your computer investigate if a

long-life battery is available. While it will add to the cost

it can give up to double the usage of a normal battery. To get

the most usage out of your battery you’ll need to understand a

little bit about how batteries work. Each battery has a limited

number of charge cycles. If your battery lasts for 4 hours and

on the first day you use it for 2 hours and then recharge it

fully and the next day you use it for 2 hours again and then

fully recharge it again, you will have completed one charge

cycle. Each battery has a limited number of charge cycles

before it starts losing it’s the charge it can hold.

If you aren’t using your wireless connection to connect to the

internet or network turn off the wireless connection it will

extend the life of your battery. The same holds true for

Bluetooth connections. Another way to extend your battery life

is to lower the brightness of your monitor. Lastly bear in mind

that using your portable computer to play a DVD movie uses more

power than using a spreadsheet.

If you find that you are often using the computer with the

battery at full charge while connected to the main power supply

you may want to remove the battery. Keeping the battery fully

charged while it’s at a high temperature, which is typical of

conditions of a laptop that is always plugged into the main

power supply, will dramatically shorten its lifespan.

Discharging the battery regularly is also conducive to long

battery life. Under optimal conditions laptop batteries will

last 24 to 36 months, under less than optimal conditions you

may shorten the lifespan down to 12 to 18 months.

To help keep your battery operating at optimal conditions try

to fully discharge it once a month. Many people find it helpful

to set a calendar reminder so they don’t forget. If you find

your battery lasts less than 60 minutes, try fully discharging

it several days in a row. Just leave your computer on overnight

with no applications running. Be sure to turn off any alarm or

lower power warnings that are associated with your power

settings. If this fails to work you will need to replace the

battery.