If you travel often and work remotely, it is important to savor your laptop’s battery life. Since a dead battery means no work can be done, it is a wise idea to invest in a spare battery to bring with you when you are remote. The best way to approach battery life, however, is to practice energy-saving habits to prolong the life of your laptop battery. Here are 7 tips to increase your battery life in your laptop machine:
1. Keep the Vents Clear
To avoid crumbs clogging your machine’s vents, avoid resting your laptop on a couch cushion, or on a mattress, or any soft surface that hinders airflow through the slot on the bottom and sides of your machine. Those vents can suck up dust and debris, clogging up the fans and causing your laptop to work harder. And, the harder the machine works, the more battery power it is going to require. If you hear a loud buzzing (like a fan spinning really fast), or your laptop base is so hot you could cook an egg on it, chances are you should consider moving to a tabletop or hard surface to work on. If this buzzing is consistent, the laptop doesn’t cool down or you need assistance cleaning the dust out of the vents, contact an analyst at Rush Tech Support.
2. Keep the Screen Brightness Down
When you do not need the screen brightness, we advise to turn it down to conserve battery life. The screen is the number one battery drain on any mobile device, including your laptop. Adjusting this setting through the Power Options will prove beneficial. If you are using Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10, type “Power” in the search field by the power menu. Click on “Power Options,” and notice the slide bar at the bottom of that window, aptly named “Screen Brightness.” You can adjust accordingly from here. It is best to keep the screen lightness at a minimum in general.
3. Hibernate and Sleep
While you are in the Power Setting menu, you can tweak your Power Plan to help optimize battery life. Two settings to note are the “Choose when to turn off the display” and “Change when the computer sleeps” commands. These are listed on the left-hand side of the window and can also be accessed by clicking the “Change Plan Settings” link in the middle of the same window. In this menu, you have the ability to tell your computer what to do when it is plugged in, and when it is not plugged in. When active, your laptop is draining considerable energy to spin your hard disk drive. When your computer is sleeping or hibernating, the hard disk stops spinning; thus, you are able to save power and extend the life of your laptop battery.
When you are not using your laptop, turn it off or place it in sleep or hibernate mode. There is a quick button on your laptop that you can press to achieve a desired state of activity. Simply closing the lid of some laptop models can place the units in standby mode.When you are just running on battery power and are not hooked up to any outlets, adjust the display to turn off or dim after a short period of time. Essentially, you want your laptop to hibernate and sleep sooner when it’s inactive and not being charged.
4. Unplug When Charged
When the battery is full and the laptop is not in use, it is advised to unplug it from the charger. Generally speaking, and according to Battery University, a battery will give you 300 to 500 full discharge cycles or charges. Keeping it plugged in can significantly decrease the amount of charges that this battery can take. Charging a battery that is already charged drains the life of the battery, because it does not need any more electricity. Battery University even recommends operating your laptop between forty and eighty percent battery life to get the most life out of the battery.
5. Do Away with Unused Peripherals
Computer peripherals such as mice, external hard disk drives and external optical drives need electricity to run. When you are done using these equipment, unplug them from the system so they will no longer drain battery power. Laptops have a touchpad so you can actually make do without a mouse.
6. Avoid Unnecessary Applications
Playing games, listening to music, or watching videos will deplete your laptop battery fast. Concentrate on the tasks for which you brought your laptop with you and frequently check to see what applications are open so you can close them out. Your laptop computer will need to work harder to run several applications at one than if you run only a few applications at a time. Stick to important tasks and you will have more time to finish them.
Conclusion
Next time you want to work remotely with your laptop, keep these tips in mind to preserve your battery life. If you want additional assistance on how to preserve your laptop’s battery or replace your machine’s battery, call a Rush Tech Support analyst today at 844-881-7874 (RUSH) or +18448817874 .
