With the added convenience of laptop and notebook computers comes the added responsibility, some might say added chore, of maintaining your battery to preserve its useful life. With our brief overview of battery maintenance you can be assured you are providing the proper care your battery requires with the goal of avoiding the premature ageing of the battery.

Overview:
In general a battery should last anywhere from 1 ½ years to 3 years or 300-600 charges. The discrepancy depends on many things such as the type of device you are using and your usage habits. If you adhere to proper maintenance procedures you will be sure to end up in the higher end of this spectrum. Of course there will always be exceptions such as a malfunctioned battery (covered under a warranty) or if you are a power laptop user.

Steps:
Initial Charge: Almost all laptop and notebook batteries come uncharged and a very crucial step in getting the battery off to a good start is the initial charge. If the battery came with an instruction booklet, read it. We can not stress this enough, but in the event of no instruction booklet, an initial 24 hour charge is a good rule of thumb. Unfortunately, many people neglect this step and end up with strike against them when trying to avoid the premature ageing of the laptop battery.

Daily Usage / Charging: As previously stated there are generally two types of laptop batteries, Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) and Lithium Ion (Li-ion).

The NiCad batteries suffer from the “memory effect”. That is they need to be fully discharged and then fully charged again. For example, if you have just finished charging your battery you have to use your device until the battery dies on you and then fully charge it again. You should not recharge the batter when it is partially charged as this significantly reduces the life of your battery.

The Li-ion batteries do not suffer from the “memory effect”. They can be charged regardless of the current charge the battery is carrying. It is good practice though, to full drain the battery once a month and fully charge it again. This simply reinforces the full charge the battery can hold and helps to prolong the useful life of the battery.

In both cases though, you should never leave a fully charged battery plugged in. If your device is turned off and your battery is fully charged, be sure to remove the power cord to ensure you are not charging a fully charged battery. Although this is not a huge problem, it is an easy procedure that can prolong the useful life of your battery.

Temperature: One thing that can be damaging to a laptop battery is the temperature at which it is being stored or operated in. Extreme heat, as well as extreme cold, can damage you laptop or notebook battery. In general, the cooler the better, however this does not mean storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Manufactures generally store their batteries at 16^oC (60^oF) which is the optimal temperature