The way you charge your technology equipment may be causing it to deteriorate. To make the batteries of your devices last longer, experts recommend changing habits.
Generally, people charge their phones when the battery drops below 50%, believing that this will prolong the life of the equipment. However, they all lose capacity gradually, which means it’s only a matter of time before your device doesn’t have enough power to be useful.
Leaving your laptop or cell phone plugged in most of the time can help you avoid the stress of running out of battery power, but you could also be overcharging your battery.
Lithium batteries are delicate. Gregory A. Keoleian, a scientist at the University of Michigan, explained that the key drivers that influence the degradation of these batteries are temperature, state of charge, and rate of charge.
Tips to make your device batteries last longer
Experts consulted by The Washington Post gave a series of recommendations to make device batteries last longer:
1) Do not charge the device until it is down to 20%: To get the most out of the lithium battery’s lifespan, its goal is to slow down the rate at which it burns through so-called charge cycles. This will ensure that you maximize each cycle while keeping the battery free from overcharging.
2) Do not keep it plugged in at 100% 24 hours: “Avoid keeping things plugged in 24/7,” Keoleian recommended. This habit can cause the battery capacity to vanish.
Michael G. Pecht, a scientist at the University of Maryland, advised storing devices you don’t plan to use for a while, like a power drill, at about 50% charge. This means that it’s also not a good idea to leave devices plugged into their chargers when you won’t be using them for a while.
3) Don’t let it get too hot: the batteries are capable of maintaining a temperature of 72 degrees or less. It is damaging to battery chemistry to be exposed to heat above 90 degrees, such as in a car on a sweltering summer day.
Colder temperatures (above freezing) aren’t as harmful, although some manufacturers advise against recharging in extreme cold.
4) Don’t get too hung up on charging a phone or laptop: Over the past decade, products, including high-end smartphones and laptops, have become much smarter about charging and automatically avoid some of the above mistakes. However, it is still recommended to disconnect them once they have charged.
5) Do not update the equipment when the battery runs out, better repair it: When your device’s battery is finally dead, you don’t necessarily have to get rid of it. Ask the manufacturer if there is a way to replace it, or even see if you can do it yourself with the help of a repair website like iFixit.
Getting a few more years out of an existing device will save you money and help the environment, too.
Main news source: The Washington Post.