Ask LH: How Can I Maximise Notebook Battery Performance?

Hi Lifehacker, I recently bought an Asus U31SD, and one of the things that I love about it is the 10-hour battery life. How can I keep my battery in good condition for as long as possible? Am I better off keeping it plugged in whenever I’m near a power outlet? If I do unplug it, should I try to run the battery flat before charging again? There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there regarding battery care. Thanks, All Charged Up

Dear ACU,

We’ve covered this topic in the past, looking at both how discharging your battery too often can actually reduce its performance and ways to enhance general battery performance, so we’ll point you straight back to those posts rather than repeating ourselves.

That said, it’s worth reiterating that the widespread belief that you should always let batteries fully discharge is an unhelpful oversimplification with modern batteries. It’s also important to recognise that ultimately, battery performance will degrade — for now, it’s essentially an inescapable fact of physics. You can slow the process by avoid too many recharge cycles and ensuring your machine doesn’t run too hot, but we haven’t yet reached the point of an eternal battery.

Cheers
Lifehacker

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