Laptop Batteries


Information about Laptop Batteries


Key Points

In recent times there has been tremendous competition in every field. In the age of technology, every manufacturing company seems to be striving to make their products more efficient by using the latest technology to sustain its products. Some succeed to a large extent, and some to a lesser extent. Laptop batteries are no exception to it.

Nickel Cadmium batteries consume less energy, have higher discharge rates and longer life but were soon replaced by Nickel Metal Hydride batteries as they were not environmentally friendly. Due to the advantages of Lithium batteries, they replaced Nickel Cadmium.  And new technology is always expected that delivers much more efficiently than current technology.


Types of Laptop Batteries

There are three types of batteries power the laptops you'll find in service today. They are (I) Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cad), (II) Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) (III) Lithium-Ion (Li-ion). Nowadays, Li-ion is the most common in newer laptops. Each battery type has different chemistry for generating a charge and characteristics.

Different types of batteries powered the laptops. But following are the batteries used in the laptops.


(I) Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd)

The Nickel Cadmium battery is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. These batteries have higher power density and energy efficiency than Nickel Iron batteries. Its self-discharge rate is lower; it may suffer from memory effects, however.

The Nickel Cadmium battery system still uses the same positive electrode as the Nickel-Iron one, while the negative electrode is cadmium. The use of cadmium in batteries is an environmentally friendly application because cadmium remains contained can be fully recycled.

The technology used in it was standard, but now they are out of date due to their heaviness and effect on memory and reduce the battery life. The battery charges fast and with ease. Its charge and discharge cycle is much higher compared to any other battery technologies if correctly maintained. But it has lower energy densities than the other battery technologies.


(II) Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)

Nickel Metal Hydride batteries offer twice as much backup as Nickel-Cadmium batteries. They have more energy potential than NICD and environmentally friendly. They are less affected by the memory effect than Ni-Cd and thus require less maintenance and conditioning. However, they have problems at very high or low room temperatures. Their lifespan is much shorter than previous laptop battery types.

These batteries are more mighty than others due to their high energy density. The main concern of these battery types is their service life. Charging time is longer than NiCd batteries. Nickel Metal Hydride batteries generate more heat while charging. Therefore, high temperature affects the life of the batteries. These batteries are expensive and self-discharge. Nickel Metal Hydride batteries require more maintenance than NICAD batteries.


(III) Lithium-Ion (Li-ion)

The lithium-ion battery has lightweight and performs better than other types of batteries. It has a new standard of portable power, doesn't affect the memory like other batteries. The lithium-ion batteries are custom made for laptop applications.

They have a rapid charging facility to which there are no constraints on how long or short you charge. There's a rapid-charging option with lithium-ion batteries, which is fine when you're in a time crunch. Finally, this type of battery is more environmentally friendly than the other types.

The discharge rate of these batteries is low. These batteries are usually maintenance-free and user friendly. These batteries have very high energy densities, and also there is scope for effective utilization of stored power. Better manufacturing techniques could certainly reduce cost by a large extent.

In today's market, Li-ion batteries are the most promising and efficient among the lot. If you are looking for a battery for your laptop, then this type of battery is the perfect one that you want on your laptops.


Smart Batteries

Smart batteries are the same as laptop batteries. Smart batteries need special maintenance. A smart battery is a rechargeable battery built-in a battery management system, usually designed for use in a portable computer such as a laptop. The use of Smart Batteries is also in biometric devices. These batteries are equipped with a microchip so they can communicate with the charger and user alike. These batteries will run longer due to their increased efficiency and also give the computer much more capabilities to determine how much battery run time is left before the next recharge is required.


What is important, while choosing the laptop battery?

There is no laptop without a battery. What makes our laptops completely mobile device is not their size or weight, but the battery. All batteries have a limited lifespan. Batteries most commonly used in laptops are on Li-ion technology, and the duration is about two to three years.

The efficiency and capacity of the cells diminish over time. Then the duration of the battery becomes very low, and later it is impossible to use it without connecting the power supply.

Once, Nickel Cadmium and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are popular in laptops and computers. These days the NiCad isn't considered for laptops because of its dreaded memory effects. The most important thing while choosing the battery are its original designation, voltage, and capacity.


How to increase laptop battery life?

Modern laptops are much more efficient than their predecessors. To make the laptop battery last longer more efficiently, you should have to follow some tips given below. 

·           Prevent the battery from fully discharged.

·           Plug it in before it dies.

·           Don't keep your laptop plugged in.

·           Place your laptop on a flat surface while using.

·           Keep your laptop out of hot and cold.

·           Activate battery saver mode.

·           Unplug unused peripherals.

·           Put proper screen brightness.

·           Close power using apps.

·           Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when no use.

·           Check battery's health.

·           Use battery settings.

·           Have enough RAM.

·           Buy an SSD.


Top 10 Lithium-Ion battery manufacturers in the world

·           Samsung SDI.

·           Panasonic.

·           Toshiba.

·           LG Chem.

·           Tesla.

·           A123 Systems.

·           eCobalt Solutions.

·           BYD.

·           Contemporary Amperex Technology.

·           Johnson Controls.

 (Back to the key points)