Laptop battery life and how to extend it

The enjoyment of using a newly purchased laptop takes many forms. Delighting in the ability to fire up 20 tabs in the browser without stuttering instead of 2. Being able to play games other than Spider Solitaire, watch movies in resolutions higher than 480p, and that battery… oh, that long-lasting battery…

The comfort of working on a new, durable battery is an incredible change. Especially if you’ve had your laptop chained to the power outlet for a long time. Completely enchanted, you look at the battery icon in the corner and see such wonders as “5 hours left”. But is it really going to be 5 hours? It is possible, after all, that you give the laptop such a hard time that the battery runs out faster? Or maybe it’s possible to save some energy and extend this time to e.g. 7 hours?

Both options are very much probable, and today we will try to answer the question of how much the laptop battery should hold.

What determines the battery life’s length?

There are several factors that affect the laptop’s battery life:

1. Component load

Of course, what you actually do on the laptop is of great importance. If you try to play the latest flight simulators and download games in the background, of course, the battery will run out much faster than when writing documents in Word. Obviously, the fewer programs running in the background, the lower the energy consumption. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to whether we really need all those simultaneous processes. Very often it turns out that you only need a few out of a dozen.

2. Screen brightness

The matter here is simple – the brighter the screen, the faster the battery drains, of course.. Basically, most laptops adjust their brightness to suit their surroundings, but there’s always the option to manually lower the brightness, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your workflow. The quickest way to do this is to use the function keys with the “CTRL” or “fn” key The keys will most often be marked with a sun symbol and may be located on one of the F keys – e.g. F6-F7 or on the up and down arrows.

3. The degree of battery consumption

Here we need to address the issue of battery discharge cycles and how they affect its overall health. Each complete battery discharge minimally reduces its capacity to store energy. It is, of course, in the tenths of a percent range, but this accumulates naturally with each cycle and such wear is a natural feature of each battery. Thus, after several hundred discharges, shorter operating times should be expected. You can read more about battery capacity and lifetime decline in this article.

4. The laptop’s age

Unfortunately, old age is no party, and the trend is that the older laptop, the greater the energy consumption. This is influenced, among other factors, by the aging of components or dust accumulation inside the laptop, and thus higher temperatures.

What to do to make the laptop battery last longer?

If you’re in the field a lot and want longer battery life, there are two ways to do this.

1. Limiting your laptop’s energy consumption

The first method costs nothing at all. This is a set of rules that you can follow to slow down battery drain. Most of them are mentioned in the points above. You can learn more from our article titled “How to take care of your laptop battery?“

2. Replacing the battery with a higher capacity model

The second method is to simply buy a new battery. Here we are forced to reveal some shocking information that not everyone might be ready for. Get hold of something and listen – The fact that the original 4400 mAh battery is doesn’t last long enough for you doesn’t not mean that you are doomed to such a capacity. In many laptop models, you can easily replace the battery for a model with up to twice the capacity. like 8800 mAh. This, of course, means that your laptop will work twice as long, allowing you to achieve over 10 hours of battery life. Equipped with such a battery, you can go to your recreational lot or garden for an entire working day without worrying about access to a socket. As shown in the picture – these batteries feature additional cell packages, which are located under the laptop in the form of an additional support plates. The advantage of this solution is that the laptop is slightly raised, and thus, thanks to better air circulation, we have better cooling. 

Standard capacity and expanded batteries

Green Cell laptop batteries offer up to 6 different variants for many laptop models. You can choose expanded batteries or equipped with Samsung or Panasonic cells. The latter ones – in the Green Cell ULTRA series  – enable up to 50% longer battery life and significantly extended service life while maintaining the original battery size. Such a long operating time is sure to entice even those users who often work in the field, without access to a an electrical outlet. If you have already decided to buy a new laptop battery and need help choosing the right model, be sure to check out the article “How to choose a laptop battery?” or contact us. Meanwhile, I’m off. and you remember to maintain good energy saving habits! 🙂