Best battery longevity? Use plugged in or charge/discharge?

[Hulk]

I'm wondering which method of use for a laptop would result in the longest life for the battery. I'm not talking about hours of use on a charge but rather the long term viability of the battery. And the specific use I'm referring to is when you have the ability to plug in the laptop.

Would it be best to simply run the battery down and then recharge or just keep the laptop plugged in?

I'm thinking keeping it plugged in would be the better option since Li-ion batteries can only endure a finite amount of charge/discharge cycles and generally the deeper the discharge the less cycles you will get out of that battery in the long run.

Also when the laptop is being used when plugged in I assume the battery powers the laptop and the wall powered transformer keeps the charge in the battery topped off? It would be nice if the circuitry was smart enough to bypass the battery entirely during connected use. Or perhaps it is?

 

[postmortemIA]

apparently keeping it not fully charged, as it increases stress on the cells. one of links with this idea:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01297640
50-70%

 

[sm625]

If I wrote a piece of software that sent a signal to my usb relay board telling it to turn off power to my A/C adapter every time the battery rose above 90% and also turned it back on every time the battery falls below 80%, I wonder what effect that would have on its long term capacity. I'd be tempted to try it but I would need at least 4 identical laptops to test, and we'd have to wait about 2-3 years for the results. lol

 

[Hulk]

If I wrote a piece of software that sent a signal to my usb relay board telling it to turn off power to my A/C adapter every time the battery rose above 90% and also turned it back on every time the battery falls below 80%, I wonder what effect that would have on its long term capacity. I'd be tempted to try it but I would need at least 4 identical laptops to test, and we'd have to wait about 2-3 years for the results. lol

That is pretty neat.

 

[corkyg]

The best result I have found is to have the battery at about 50% charge, and remove it. Bag it and store in a cool, dry place and run the lap'top only on A/C. This works for me.

The only time I put the battery back in is when I travel. When I return home, I remove it again as stated above. My battery is now about 3 years old and tests like it was new.

 

[Hulk]

The best result I have found is to have the battery at about 50% charge, and remove it. Bag it and store in a cool, dry place and run the lap'top only on A/C. This works for me.

The only time I put the battery back in is when I travel. When I return home, I remove it again as stated above. My battery is now about 3 years old and tests like it was new.

That's a great idea. Thanks. Plus the laptop is lighter for home use when plugged in.

 

[JAG87]

Leave it plugged in. Any decent laptop will stop charging once the battery reaches 100%, and will not charge again until you unplug and plug back in. Which means your battery does not age due to unnecessary charging cycles, and is allowed to technically discharge over an extremely long period of time while your laptop runs solely off AC power.

 

[Compman55]

The best result I have found is to have the battery at about 50% charge, and remove it. Bag it and store in a cool, dry place and run the lap'top only on A/C. This works for me.

The only time I put the battery back in is when I travel. When I return home, I remove it again as stated above. My battery is now about 3 years old and tests like it was new.

+1 absolutly. I got 5 yrs out of a battery and when I sold it, the wear was 27%.

 

[Enigmoid]

The best result I have found is to have the battery at about 50% charge, and remove it. Bag it and store in a cool, dry place and run the lap'top only on A/C. This works for me.

The only time I put the battery back in is when I travel. When I return home, I remove it again as stated above. My battery is now about 3 years old and tests like it was new.

I have a lenovo and under power settings I can set to to only charge to 60%. Computer is a year old and battery has no wear.

 

[GTRagnarok]

I have a 4 year old Asus that I leave plugged in almost all the time, including overnight. Wear level is 16% according to HWMonitor. My advice is to just not worry too much about it.

 

[georgec84]

I remove the battery when plugged in and avoid full discharges. I have just 3% wear after 3 years.

 

[Zodiark1593]

I remove the battery when plugged in and avoid full discharges. I have just 3% wear after 3 years.

I leave mine plugged in most of the time right next to my bed. Used it quite a bit for college, and is about 3 years old. Wear level is...

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