Lithium-ion batteries! They’re in your phone, your laptop and pretty much every consumer electronic device that uses rechargeable batteries these days. How should you take care of them? Old wives tales of charging batteries don’t apply here, so forget everything you thought you knew. According to Ars Technica, this is how you should use your Li-ion battery:
• Do not let it run out completely all the time. Full discharge puts a lot of strain on the battery
• Do not keep a Li-ion battery fully charged all the time, either. If you don’t use your battery it might suffer from capacity loss
• Keep your battery in cooler temperatures. Hot hot heat is not good for it
• If you’re gonna store your battery, leave 40%-50% charge in and store it in a cool place (i.e. fridge).
I know, it’s hard to break old habits (I leave my laptop plugged in far too often), but taking care of your battery means better, longer juice. That’s always a good thing. [Ars Technica]
Image Credit: Wired