A laptop or a phone with a draining battery is such a big hassle; let alone if you are far off your car or a socket to plug your device in. Nowadays, technology has made a giant leap in terms of saving the battery lifetime comparing to 4 years ago especially for the latest generation of smartphones. Battery lifetime does not only rely on the model of battery and its quality, it also depends on the way the battery is maintained. In this article, I am going to to clarify what establishes the lifetime of Lithium-Ion batteries and how to increase its lifetime.
What's Lithium-Ion Batteries (Li-Ion)?
A type of a battery made up of Lithium, the lightest metal and the one that has the maximum electrochemical potential. Lithium, however, is an unpredictable metal, so Lithium-Ion batteries are made from Lithium ions from chemicals. Because of its lightness and high energy density, Lithium-Ion batteries are ideal for portable devices, such as notebook computers and mobile phones. Additionally, Lithium-Ion batteries have no memory effect and do not use dangerous metals, such as lead, mercury or cadmium. The only drawback of Lithium-Ion batteries is that they are currently highly-priced compared to NiCad and NiMH battery packs. Modern laptops and smartphones are supplied with Li-Ion batteries; which are lighter in weight, provide an increased efficiency, sustain their charge longer, and are less vulnerable to memory impact than earlier kinds of standard rechargeable batteries.
Setting Up, Storing And Cycling Li-Ion Batteries
Brand-new Li-Ion batteries do not need any initial maintenance. However, it should be fully charged before the very first use.
Li-Ion batteries have a lifespan of around 300 to 500 full charging cycles or up to 2000 incomplete cycles. Some reviews claiming that cycling a Li-Ion battery after long storage periods ( i.e. fully discharging and recharging it for a couple of cycles) leads to some potential capacity gains. Some other sources suggest cycling Li-Ion batteries every couple of weeks or every like 30 recharge cycle. Generally, a Li-Ion battery ought not to always be fully discharged.
Storing a battery for long time periods, its charge capacity should be around 40% and it should be saved in a spot as fresh and dry as possible. A refrigerator can be utilized (0ºC - 10ºC), yet only if the battery remains separated from any moisture. We should always bear in mind that the battery's deadliest enemy is the heat. So leaving behind the laptop or smartphone in the car in a hot summer day is half way to kill the battery.
If you intend to buy another battery, it's recommended that you get one merely when the present battery is extremely degraded. If it's not the case and won't be used for a long time, then it will be gradually decayed by heat unless the above storage method is applied. remember to pay attention to the manufacturing date when purchasing a new battery.
How To Extend Your Battery's Lifetime ?
As we pointed out that Li-Ion batteries do not have a memory effect, their lifetime can nevertheless be reduced significantly in case not properly maintained. Let's always remember that deep discharges and heat can damage Li-Ion battery and here is what you should do to extend your laptop's or phone's battery's lifespan:
1. Remove the battery while laptop is running with AC power linked.
Leaving a fully charged battery in laptop while running on AC power may not overheat the battery and damage it as it is known. Let's understand this point.
The laptop still plugged in with a fully charged battery is not going to be harmful as the battery stops receiving charging energy as soon as the charge level reaches 100% and this energy is bypassed straight to the power source system of the laptop. However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its outlet whenever the laptop is plugged in only if the latter is suffering from excessive heating caused by the laptop hardware. In regular use, the laptop doesn't get too hot (CPU and Hard Disk around 40ºC to 50ºC) and the battery can remain in the laptop socket. On the other hand, in an intensive usage which leads to a large amount of heat produced (i.e. Games, rendering... temperatures above 60ºC) the battery should be taken out from the socket so as to avoid overheating. Consequently, the heat is the major problem to the battery and not the plug itself.
As for smartphones, keeping a battery plugged all night long charging will lead to overheating and decay in time. Do not use the phone while charging which will increase the battery heating.
2. Recharge And Discharge Your Battery Moderately.
As we know that each battery has a specific number of cycles till it is degraded. So it is recommended not to deeply discharge your Li-Ion batteries, rather recharge them partially. The optimum recharge would be between 35-40% to 80-85% (best for smartphones). Though, it is better to cycle the battery every few weeks or after every 30 partial charges.
3. Recharge Your Battery At A Reduced Voltage.
The question occasionally pops up "What is the impact of charging with less than 4.2 volts?" Unlike other battery chemistries the battery will charge, but it will never achieve a full charge, it will only be partly charged. The reason for this is that stuffing the ions into the anode or cathode crystals needs more voltage than the basic electrochemical cell voltage. The higher the voltage the more ions can be inserted. An advantage to charging at lower voltages is that the cycle life goes up dramatically.
4. Keep Your Battery As Cool As Possible But Never Freeze It.
The cooler the battery is, the longer it will resist. We all know that the battery gets hotter while charging and that's normal, but what should we do if we want to store it and keep it less exposed to heat? Some suggest placing it in the fridge. Practically speaking, there’s next to no reason to put your batteries in the fridge. Whatever gains you might get in shelf-life using the technique would be encountered by possible issues. Micro condensation on and within the battery can harm it and trigger deterioration. Extremely low temperatures (such as the very frosty part of the fridge or placing them in a freezer as some people wrongly advise) can further more damage the batteries. Even though you don’t overall damage the battery, you have to wait for the battery to warm up to use it and retain it from collecting condensation if the room is damp.
Eventually, although Li-Ion batteries are much better than other types of batteries like Nickel, but all of them are aging at the end once the electrolyte slowly breaks down the positive plate, creating the inner level of resistance to increase till no power can be sent. The ideal thing you can do to protect your laptop's battery lifetime is to use it only when you are off a power supply, rather keep it in a cool place when the laptop is on AC power. Regarding your smartphone's, the best way to increase its lifespan is to partially charge it and prevent using it while charging. A partial charge and low temperatures decrease the procedure degrading and therefore maximize the lifetime of the Li-Ion battery.
Credit: wikipedia, batterycare.net, batteryuniversity.com
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