Why do laptop batteries degrade so fast?

[amberOK]

I paid extra when I bought this laptop battery that was supposed to last 3 hours but less than 2 years later, it just lasts 50 minutes.

http://www.brainydeal.com/Laptop-Battery-for-Dell-XPS-M1530/M/B003ZHI1CY.htm

Is it the manufacturer, the technology or do I need to replace a rechargeable laptop battery every year?

 

[Automata]

Lithium-ion batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and degrade over time. The more charge cycles you do, the shorter it will last. Temperature is also a large factor, along with charge level. If you leave the battery in the laptop at full charge, it is absorbing heat from the laptop, which degrades it faster. Pulled from Wiki:

A Standard (Cobalt) Li-ion cell that is full most of the time at 25 °C (77 °F) irreversibly loses approximately 20% capacity per year. Poor ventilation may increase temperatures, further shortening battery life. Loss rates vary by temperature: 6% loss at 0 °C (32 °F), 20% at 25 °C (77 °F), and 35% at 40 °C (104 °F). When stored at 40%–60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, and 15%, respectively. In contrast, the calendar life of LiFePO4 cells is not affected by being kept at a high state of charge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litium_Ion_battery#Disadvantages

As that article mentions, leaving the battery around 40-60% charge and removed from the laptop will significantly increase how long it will last.

 

[marketpantry]

Lithium-ion batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and degrade over time. The more charge cycles you do, the shorter it will last. Temperature is also a large factor, along with charge level. If you leave the battery in the laptop at full charge, it is absorbing heat from the laptop, which degrades it faster. Pulled from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litium_Ion_battery#Disadvantages

As that article mentions, leaving the battery around 40-60% charge and removed from the laptop will significantly increase how long it will last.

so basically the best way to do this is to partially charge a battery, stick it in a freezer, and only pull it out when needed?

 

[Automata]

I wouldn't put it in a freezer, but I've heard of people putting it in the fridge. Honestly though, a cool and dry closest would be best.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

if you always have your laptop plugged in while using it, take the battery out, i beleive most laptops draw power from the battery first so your constantly charging / using the battery

 

[manu2b]

^+1

 

[Automata]

I'm pretty sure that it can't use and charge the battery at the same time, that doesn't make sense. If the battery is full, it will use the external power source and likely trickle charge the battery to keep it full.

 

[amberOK]

Lithium-ion batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and degrade over time. The more charge cycles you do, the shorter it will last. Temperature is also a large factor, along with charge level. If you leave the battery in the laptop at full charge, it is absorbing heat from the laptop, which degrades it faster. Pulled from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litium_Ion_battery#Disadvantages

As that article mentions, leaving the battery around 40-60% charge and removed from the laptop will significantly increase how long it will last.

thank you guy

 

[Evilsizer]

they should just ditch li-ion and start investing LifePo4 cells. lifepo4 has higher cycle life vs li-ion and holds more charge. it would require a new battery monitoring system in the laptop. as you wouldnt want to fully discharge the lifepo4 as it would vastly decrease battery life, as in cycle life of charging/discharging the battery. Lifepo4 is also much safer then li-ion cells. the problem is the cost of the lifepo4 vs li-ion, li-ion has been around much longer so they are sticking with what they know.

 

[marketpantry]

Lithium-ion batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and degrade over time. The more charge cycles you do, the shorter it will last. Temperature is also a large factor, along with charge level. If you leave the battery in the laptop at full charge, it is absorbing heat from the laptop, which degrades it faster. Pulled from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litium_Ion_battery#Disadvantages

As that article mentions, leaving the battery around 40-60% charge and removed from the laptop will significantly increase how long it will last.

After reading about it earlier this year, ive decided to keep my battery out of any laptop i own and keep it in the freezer at 50% charged until needed. keeping it in the freezer helps it last even longer. i fricken hated how my very first laptop had only about 15 minutes of battery life 2 years after purchase.

 

[Automata]

The downside of putting it below ambient is that when you go to use it, the metal bits on the battery will attract condensation. Personally, I want to keep water far away from electricity. As I mentioned earlier, I would store it in a cool closet. Easy access, lower temps, no chance of it shorting out when you want to use it.

 

[marketpantry]

The downside of putting it below ambient is that when you go to use it, the metal bits on the battery will attract condensation. Personally, I want to keep water far away from electricity. As I mentioned earlier, I would store it in a cool closet. Easy access, lower temps, no chance of it shorting out when you want to use it.

I should mention I'd vacuum seal iit.

 

[Automata]

You would get condensation when the cold battery hits the warm air outside of the freezer/refrigerator. Sealing is a good idea, but you would need to acclimate the battery before opening the bag. That sounds like a lot of work for "I want to use my laptop on battery".

 

[Kosay1991]

as much as its not the ideal solution, by the time laptop batteries start dying out you can find ebay replacements for around 20~25 dollars. Which isn't all that bad.

-Ideally when youre stationary pull out your battery and run of AC.
-If you are using it try not to go under 30%.
-And make sure you do a full cycle at least once every 2 weeks or so (that means using your battery till 0%) just to refresh all those unused cells.

That should give you over a year easy .

Me myself, I gave up on laptops all together (save the one that work gives me).
But then again the one from work is a fancy latitude e-series (i7) with a 9-cell battery o.0 so that takes forever to die on me.

 

[jaysonkurt]

I have the understanding that battery technology now these days are so advanced that it can handle frequent charge and discharge so I do not think it is an issue.

 

[dfonda]

I remind everyone in my family to unplug the laptop after charging. I don't now any many people I see who leave there laptops plugged in for days...Then wonder why its so hot and dies after a short while.

I have had pretty good luck charging only when needed. 2 years is a pretty good life for one of these batteries.

We keep our spare batteries in the fridge not the freezer, they last for years.

To the OP you can get those batteries for $16-$20 Make sure they have a good return policy in case you get a dud. I have had good luck with Generic.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&key...tery&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:dell xps m1530 battery
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Li-ion-R...393541&sr=8-3&keywords=dell+xps+m1530+battery