6 tips for getting most from rechargeable Li-Ion batteries

I'm surrounded by devices that owe their lifeblood to Li-Ion rechargeable batteries. And as most devices are now built in such a way that it makes replacing the battery is tricky - not to mention expensive - you want to get the best possible lifespan out of that battery.

How much of a difference can taking care of the battery actually make? In my experience, a lot. I have both a second-generation iPod nano that I bought around December 2006, and a first-generation iPod touch I picked up in 2008 that are both still going strong on the original battery.

So, how do you get the most out of Li-Ion rechargeable batteries?

Read more: Six tips for getting the most from your rechargeable batteries | ZDNet
 
Very interesting article Shawn. As an electronics tech its always fascinating to hear and read the arguments for and against various charging and usage regimes. The observations in this article pretty much match my own experiences built up over time.

One thing I would like to see (does it exist :)) would be a utility to set a max charge level on say a laptop of perhaps 60 or 70%. For a device used almost exclusively on mains, such a feature would limit deterioration caused by keeping the cells at 100% charge (its a chemical process that unfortunately occurs when cells are permanently held and topped off at the 96-100% level).
 

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Very interesting article Shawn. As an electronics tech its always fascinating to hear and read the arguments for and against various charging and usage regimes. The observations in this article pretty much match my own experiences built up over time.

One thing I would like to see (does it exist :)) would be a utility to set a max charge level on say a laptop of perhaps 60 or 70%. For a device used almost exclusively on mains, such a feature would limit deterioration caused by keeping the cells at 100% charge (its a chemical process that unfortunately occurs when cells are permanently held and topped off at the 96-100% level).

My Lenovo Laptop has a program that will do that. I think it is called Energy Management. Has a choice to fully charge the battery or to auto limit it to max 60%. I normally use my Laptop plugged in so the battery will not charge over 60%. If I know I will be using it on battery I will let it fully charge before then.

Jim :cool:
 

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It seems difficult to decide what to do for the best. Years ago I didn't like working off battery power, so kept on mains, but my battery suffered.

With my current laptop I've been regularly running the battery down before recharging, thinking this was the correct thing to do. Now I find it's not :(.

I will have to scour my information to see if Dell also have a setting to limit the charging level as well.
 

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My Lenovo Laptop has a program that will do that. I think it is called Energy Management. Has a choice to fully charge the battery or to auto limit it to max 60%. I normally use my Laptop plugged in so the battery will not charge over 60%. If I know I will be using it on battery I will let it fully charge before then.

Jim :cool:

That sounds good :)

It seems difficult to decide what to do for the best. Years ago I didn't like working off battery power, so kept on mains, but my battery suffered.

With my current laptop I've been regularly running the battery down before recharging, thinking this was the correct thing to do. Now I find it's not :(.

I will have to scour my information to see if Dell also have a setting to limit the charging level as well.

I have a Dell (Vostro 3750) and seem to remember there was something like this with the preinstalled W7 OS and Dell utilities. I did a clean W8.1 install some time ago and didn't put the dell stuff back (by choice). I have a vague recollection that it reset every boot and thinking about it, that it only let you disable charging and not set a limit.
 

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I too have chosen not to put much Dell stuff back after a clean install. I will browse my documents and maybe go onto the Dell forum to get some information, but it sounds like it may not be possible. Oh well, we can't have everything!
 

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I sure would like to be the person that makes the next big breakthrough in battery technology, super battery, that is cost effective and near the golden 100% efficiency.
Of course it will probably be some poor schmuck working for a big corporation and he/she/they will get squat.
 

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Of course it will probably be some poor schmuck working for a big corporation and he/she/they will get squat.

That's life ;).
 

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Finally managed to track down an article on the Dell website about laptop batteries, which says they can't be overcharged as they are designed to avoid this. Also says that you should run your battery down once every 2-3 weeks.

What a shame Dell didn't think to make this useful information automatically available to anyone who purchases a laptop. It seems these days you really have to dig to find even the most basic things :(. And most people with either not know to do this, or choose not to.

I've also been reading some press recently about large quantities of Li-Ion batteries no longer being carried by some airlines as freight, due to their potential to cause fires. So @Popeye: the next battery also needs to be safe I think.
 

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I've always been told not to use a mobile phone to make calls while charging, never to let the battery fully discharge and to cease charging once it reaches 100%. I'm not really sure what the logic is behind not making calls while charging, but whatever.... I charge my iPhone once it reaches 25~30% and unplug it as soon as its 100%.

It's a shame flagship phones that cost $700 + don't allow the user to replace the battery. Stupid form over function nonsense.

This site gets brought up often:

Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University
 

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I've always been told not to use a mobile phone to make calls while charging, never to let the battery fully discharge and to cease charging once it reaches 100%. I'm not really sure what the logic is behind not making calls while charging, but whatever.... I charge my iPhone once it reaches 25~30% and unplug it as soon as its 100%.

It's a shame flagship phones that cost $700 + don't allow the user to replace the battery. Stupid form over function nonsense.

This site gets brought up often:

Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University

Looks an interesting site - makes me wonder how we ever coped without the interweb :D.


I sometimes have to plug in my phone during a call if I've not noticed the battery getting low. It doesn't seem to have caused any problems: my Nokia 1600 is still working well after all these years. It's so old, maybe it too will be worth 700 dollars by now ;).
 

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    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
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I think someone told me that you're not supposed to make calls while charging due to voltage instability. Guess it could cause the battery to blow or something.

I've done it be it before. Probably just nonsense.
 

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Strange to say that I right clicked my battery icon today and find I do indeed have the 'Dell battery utility' installed that I mentioned in post #5. I can only think it must be part of the Dell 'Quickset' driver because I've certainly not installed it knowingly as I did a super clean install.

However... it does have the option to suspend charging until a reboot. Now there is an interesting question. Does a shut down and reboot in W8.1 count as a traditional reboot given the W8.1 quick start option ?

Capture.PNG
 

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Check out this article (I'm still looking for another that I translated fro Tom's Hardware back in 2005):
Battery University "How to Prolong Lithium-Based Batteries" (How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University). Here's the German version of the article I translated: Episode 1: Der 8 Stunden- Notebook-Akku - Vision oder bald Wirklichkeit?. The title translates to "The 8-hour battery will soon become a reality." If anybody wants to read the English version, it looks like Tom's never published it, so post a comment here, and we can make arrangements for me to e-mail my translation to you.
--Ed--
 

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