BU-808c: What the User Can Do
Tweak battery care with simple user changes.
Environmental conditions, and not cycling alone, govern the longevity of lithium-ion batteries. The worst situation is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures. Battery packs do not die suddenly but the runtime gradually shortens as the capacity fades and the self-discharge increases.
Lower charge voltages prolong battery life but this also reduces the runtime. Industrial uses, such as EVs and satellites, take advantage of this to extend the battery service life but it increases battery cost and adds to weight. Similar provisions to prolog battery life are often also available on portable communications and computing devices, but these are seldom used. Consumers demand nothing but maximum runtime; planned obsolescence solves most battery problems.
One such adjustment to prolog the life of a laptop battery is lowering the charge voltage when connected to the AC grid. To make this feature user-friendly, the device manufacturer should offer the “Long Life” mode that keeps the battery at, say, 4.05V/cell, resulting in a capacity of about 80 percent. Before traveling, the user would command the “Full Capacity” mode to bring the charge back up to 4.20V/cell. The saturation charge would take about an hour and fill the battery to 100 percent capacity.
The question is often asked: “Should I disconnect my laptop from the power grid when not in use? Under normal circumstances this should not be necessary because once the lithium-ion battery is full, a correctly functioning charger will discontinue the charge and topping charge will only engage when the battery voltage drops to a low level. Most users do not remove the AC power, and this practice is safe.
Heat buildup is less of a concern with modern laptops than in the past and reported fires are fewer. What remains valid is keeping the devices cool when running them in bed or on a pillow that may restrict the airflow. Not only will heat stress electronic components, elevated temperature causes the electrodes in the battery to react with the electrolyte and this will permanently lower the capacity.
High-energy Li-ion should be charged at less than 1C. Avoid so-called ultra-fast chargers that claim to fully charge Li-ion in less than one hour.
Granted, everyone wants to keep the battery as long as possible but everyday stresses cannot always be avoided. Device manufacturers should choose a battery that can live up to reasonable stresses and still deliver the anticipated life span. As a doctor cannot predict how long a person will live based on diet and activity alone, so also does the life of a battery vary, and it can be cut short by an unexpected failure. In this respect, batteries and humans share the same volatility.
Last updated 2016-01-20
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- BU-001: Sharing Battery Knowledge
- BU-002: Introduction
- BU-003: Dedication
- BU-101: When Was the Battery Invented?
- BU-102: Early Innovators
- BU-103: Global Battery Markets
- BU-103a: Battery Breakthroughs: Myth or Fact?
- BU-104: Getting to Know the Battery
- BU-104a: Comparing the Battery with Other Power Sources
- BU-104b: Battery Building Blocks
- BU-104c: The Octagon Battery – What makes a Battery a Battery
- BU-105: Battery Definitions and what they mean
- BU-106: Advantages of Primary Batteries
- BU-106a: Choices of Primary Batteries
- BU-107: Comparison Table of Secondary Batteries
- BU-201: How does the Lead Acid Battery Work?
- BU-201a: Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM)
- BU-202: New Lead Acid Systems
- BU-203: Nickel-based Batteries
- BU-204: How do Lithium Batteries Work?
- BU-205: Types of Lithium-ion
- BU-206: Lithium-polymer: Substance or Hype?
- BU-206a: Finding the Optimal Runtime and Power Ratio of Li-ion
- BU-208: Cycling Performance
- BU-209: How does a Supercapacitor Work?
- BU-210: How does the Fuel Cell Work?
- BU-210a: Why does Sodium-sulfur need to be heated
- BU-210b: How does the Flow Battery Work?
- BU-211: Alternate Battery Systems
- BU-212: Future Batteries
- BU-213: Cycle Performance of NiCd, NiMH and Li-ion
- BU-214: Summary Table of Lead-based Batteries
- BU-215: Summary Table of Nickel-based Batteries
- BU-216: Summary Table of Lithium-based Batteries
- BU-217: Summary Table of Alternate Batteries
- BU-218: Summary Table of Future Batteries
- BU-301: A look at Old and New Battery Packaging
- BU-301a: Types of Battery Cells
- BU-302: Series and Parallel Battery Configurations
- BU-303: Confusion with Voltages
- BU-304: Why are Protection Circuits Needed?
- BU-304a: Safety Concerns with Li-ion
- BU-304b: Making Lithium-ion Safe
- BU-305: Building a Lithium-ion Pack
- BU-306: What is the Function of the Separator?
- BU-307: How does Electrolyte Work?
- BU-308: Availability of Lithium
- BU-309: How does Graphite Work in Li-ion?
- BU-310: How does Cobalt Work in Li-ion?
- BU-311: Battery Raw Materials
- BU-401: How do Battery Chargers Work?
- BU-401a: Fast and Ultra-fast Chargers
- BU-402: What Is C-rate?
- BU-403: Charging Lead Acid
- BU-404: What is Equalizing Charge?
- BU-405: Charging with a Power Supply
- BU-406: Battery as a Buffer
- BU-407: Charging Nickel-cadmium
- BU-408: Charging Nickel-metal-hydride
- BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion
- BU-410: Charging at High and Low Temperatures
- BU-411: Charging from a USB Port
- BU-412: Charging without Wires
- BU-413: Charging with Solar, Turbine
- BU-413a: How to Store Renewable Energy in a Battery
- BU-414: How do Charger Chips Work?
- BU-415: How to Charge and When to Charge?
- BU-501: Basics about Discharging
- BU-501a: Discharge Characteristics of Li-ion
- BU-502: Discharging at High and Low Temperatures
- BU-503: How to Calculate Battery Runtime
- BU-504: How to Verify Sufficient Battery Capacity
- BU-601: How does a Smart Battery Work?
- BU-602: How does a Battery Fuel Gauge Work?
- BU-603: How to Calibrate a “Smart” Battery
- BU-604: How to Process Data from a “Smart” Battery
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Introduction
Crash Course on Batteries
Battery Types
Packaging and Safety
Charge Methods
Discharge Methods
"Smart" Battery
- BU-701: How to Prime Batteries
- BU-702: How to Store Batteries
- BU-703: Health Concerns with Batteries
- BU-704: How to Transport Batteries
- BU-704a: Shipping Lithium-based Batteries by Air
- BU-704b: CAUTION & Overpack Labels
- BU-704c: Class 9 Label
- BU-705: How to Recycle Batteries
- BU-705a: Battery Recycling as a Business
- BU-705b: Giving Batteries a Second Life
- BU-706: Summary of Do’s and Don’ts
- BU-801: Setting Battery Performance Standards
- BU-801a: How to Rate Battery Runtime
- BU-801b: How to Define Battery Life
- BU-802: What Causes Capacity Loss?
- BU-802a: How does Rising Internal Resistance affect Performance?
- BU-802b: What does Elevated Self-discharge Do?
- BU-802c: How Low can a Battery be Discharged?
- BU-803: Can Batteries Be Restored?
- BU-803a: Cell Matching and Balancing
- BU-803b: What causes Cells to Short?
- BU-803c: Loss of Electrolyte
- BU-804: How to Prolong Lead-acid Batteries
- BU-804a: Corrosion, Shedding and Internal Short
- BU-804b: Sulfation and How to Prevent it
- BU-804c: Acid Stratification and Surface Charge
- BU-805: Additives to Boost Flooded Lead Acid
- BU-806: Tracking Battery Capacity and Resistance as part of Aging
- BU-806a: How Heat and Loading affect Battery Life
- BU-807: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries
- BU-807a: Effect of Zapping
- BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries
- BU-808a: How to Awaken a Sleeping Li-ion
- BU-808b: What causes Li-ion to die?
- BU-808c: What the User Can Do
- BU-809: How to Maximize Runtime
- BU-810: What Everyone should Know about Aftermarket Batteries
- BU-901: Fundamentals in Battery Testing
- BU-902: How to Measure Internal Resistance
- BU-902a: How to Measure CCA
- BU-903: How to Measure State-of-charge
- BU-904: How to Measure Capacity
- BU-905: Testing Lead Acid Batteries
- BU-906: Testing Nickel-based Batteries
- BU-907: Testing Lithium-based Batteries
- BU-908: Battery Management System (BMS)
- BU-909: Battery Test Equipment
- BU-910: How to Repair a Battery Pack
- BU-911: How to Repair a Laptop Battery
- BU-912: How to Repair Mobile Phone Batteries
- BU-913: How to Maintain Fleet Batteries
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From Birth to Retirement
How to Prolong Battery Life
Battery Testing and Monitoring
- BU-1001: Batteries in Industries
- BU-1002: Electric Powertrain, then and now
- BU-1002a: Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the Battery
- BU-1003: Electric Vehicle (EV)
- BU-1004: Charging an Electric Vehicle
- BU-1005: Does the Fuel Cell-powered Vehicle have a Future?
- BU-1006: Cost of Mobile Power
- BU-1007: Net Calorific Value
- BU-1008: Working towards Sustainability
- BU-1009: Battery Paradox - Afterword
- BU-1101: Glossary
- BU-1102: Abbreviations
- BU-1103: Bibliography
- BU-1104: About the Author
- BU-1105: About Cadex
- BU-1403: Author’s Creed
- BU-1501 Battery History
- BU-1502 Basics about Batteries
- BU-1503 How to Maintain Batteries
- BU-1504 Battery Test & Analyzing Devices
- BU-1505 Short History of Cadex
- Making Battery State-of-health Transparent
- Batteries will eventually die, but when and how?
- Why does Pokémon Go rob so much Battery Power?
- How to Care for the Battery
- How to Rate Battery Runtime
- Tesla’s iPhone Moment — How the Powerwall will Change Global Energy Use
- Painting the Battery Green by giving it a Second Life
- Charging without Wires — A Solution or Laziness
- What everyone should know about Battery Chargers
- A Look at Cell Formats and how to Build a good Battery
- Battery Breakthroughs — Myth or Fact?
- Rapid-test Methods that No Longer Work
- Shipping Lithium-based Batteries by Air
- How to make Batteries more Reliable and Longer Lasting
- What causes Lithium-ion to die?
- Safety of Lithium-ion Batteries
- Recognizing Battery Capacity as the Missing Link
- Managing Batteries for Warehouse Logistics
- Caring for your Starter Battery
- Giving Batteries a Second Life
- How to Make Batteries in Medical Devices More Reliable
- Possible Solutions for the Battery Problem on the Boeing 787
- Impedance Spectroscopy Checks Battery Capacity in 15 Seconds
- How to Improve the Battery Fuel Gauge
- Examining Loading Characteristics on Primary and Secondary Batteries
- Change-log of “Batteries in a Portable World,” 4th edition: Chapters 1 - 3
- Change-log of “Batteries in a Portable World,” 4th edition: Chapters 4 - 10
- Close Part Three Menu

