One for sure way to have spare power during times of need is to purchase a spare battery regardless of your laptops rated battery life. Spare batteries can be a life saver when the need does arise.
When shopping keep an eye out for batteries with more cells for some laptops have this as an option. They give you additional power for your on the go lifestyle.
I know a lot of us sometimes forget or simply don’t have the time to fully charge our primary battery before we jam out the door to face another hectic day, so having a spare will spare you potential agony.
Some people I know are cheap, and others simply don’t want to carry the extra weight, but honestly if you do run out of the juice, and we’re not talking about OJ here, you will be happy you invested a little.
Before spending your hard earned cash on the latest and greatest laptop, keep in mind bigger isn’t always better. While today’s laptop computer batteries work very well along with the advanced power saving technologies built into today’s laptop computer systems, picking the right balance between screen size and processing power is your best bet. Smaller notebooks plain and simple have lower power requirements. A typical 17-inch laptop for example can use 40 to even 50 percent more juice than a small compact 12-inch laptop. Much of this extra energy demand comes from the screen itself which you will learn about in tip 5.
Tip 3:
Maximize your laptop computer batteries by adjusting the Windows power settings. You can find your power options in the Windows Control Panel. One way to get the most juice from modern day processors with power saving technologies is to force the laptop to run in max battery mode. This can make a big difference in battery life but keep in mind this forces the CPU to run at a lower speed so be sure to change it back to it's original setting when not on the go. If you are browsing the web or performing basic word processing tasks this loss of processing power doesn't impact performance too much.
Here at Laptop-Computer-Comparison.com we also like to set the screen to go off after 5-10 minutes of inactivity, the hard disk around 20 minutes, and additionally we like to put the computer into standby or hibernation around 45 minutes. Adjust each setting to your own usage, for obviously 5 minutes isn’t going to be enough time to read a web page for a lot of people, and a screen that keeps shutting off while reading gets annoying quick. By fine tuning these settings you can dramatically improve a laptop computer batteries life.
Tip 4:
Here’s an easy but important tip, every so often check the remaining battery power via the battery power icon located on the bottom right near the clock. Simply position your mouse cursor over or double click on it for information, but do keep in mind that what is displayed is only an estimate for battery life is impacted by usage. So what you see is not exactly what you will get out of your battery. For example, watching a DVD or playing a 3D game consumes more battery power than typing in a word processing program or browsing the web.
Regardless of laptop usage, best practices like this will help you stay in control of the battery and not the battery in control of you. Feel free to also try one of the many 3rd party battery monitoring software out there such as BatteryMon if you'd like even more control.
Tip 5:
One major factor that reduces a laptop computer batteries runtime is the brightness level of the LCD screen. We always recommend dimming the screen as low as possible but just make sure it’s not causing your eyes to strain. You will see a nice increase in battery life by doing this. This is performed pretty much the same way on most laptops. Simply hold down the function (Fn) key on your laptop’s keyboard and press the key with the brightness up and down icon on it till you reach your desired level.
Tip 6:
Turn off your wireless card or other hardware device if you don’t need it at the moment. Most laptops have a switch somewhere so you can turn your wireless card on and off. If you have a wireless or other card plugged into the PC Card slot it is a good idea to remove it also. By not using a mouse you can also spare a little energy and listening to a music CD or watching a DVD will drain your battery big time.
Tip 7:
One of best tips and best practices for anyone with a laptop is to simply charge it whenever possible so when you do go mobile it is just as ready as you are to go to work. Charge it before leaving your home, when you get home, at a friends house, at work, or anywhere else if the opportunity arises. If you are a busy always on the go person a car inverter is a sweet thing to have. Auto inverters convert your cars 12v DC power into an AC power source that laptops or other devices use.
Purchasing an additional AC adapter or a docking station if your laptop supports one to keep at home makes plugging in the laptop not seem like a chore anymore. I personally keep a second AC adapter plugged in at home so I don’t have to unravel my adapter and reach under my desk to plug it in every time. I noticed after purchasing the second adapter that I often plug my laptop in first thing then when I step in the door even if I don't plan on using it.
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