Are you ready to get your laptop battery to last for a while? Understanding what type of battery you have and how to care for it can go a long way toward that goal. Steps that will extend the life of one type of rechargeable battery will kill another type of battery. Being knowledgeable on the type of laptop battery you own can go a long way towards being able to use your laptop battery for a long time to come.

Know What Kind of Battery your Laptop Uses

The three most common rechargeable batteries on the market include lithium ion, nickel metal cadmium, and nickel metal hydride. Most laptop batteries today use either lithium ion batteries or lithium ion polymer batteries for a number of reasons. You can confirm this by pulling your laptop battery out from the bottom or back of your laptop and examining the tiny writing on it. Look for something that says either lithium ion, nickel cadmium, or nickel metal hydride.

Advantages of Lithium Ion Batteries

The most common battery in modern laptops uses lithium ion technology. This battery has a number of advantages over the other types of rechargeable batteries. I'll list them below:

Lithium Ion Batteries don't develop a battery memory. Both other types of rechargeable batteries can develop a 'memory' for shorter charges drastically shortening the amount of time your battery lasts between charges. Lithium Ion batteries though, don't suffer from memory problems.

Lithium Ion Batteries hold their charge for a long period of time. The other battery types will lose their charge if left to sit around even if they aren't being used. Lithium Ion batteries will hold their charge for a lot longer between charges even if the battery ends up sitting around for a while.

You get more battery life than the other rechargeable types. For the same size and weight, lithium ion batteries last longer between charges because more of the bulk of the battery is dedicated to capacity rather than just 'overhead'.

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Quick Way to Kill Your Lithium Ion Battery

Avoid the following list of things in order to get the maximum life out of your laptop battery. Some of the most common things to avoid include:

Do not subject your battery to extreme temperatures. Lithium ion batteries do not handle heat well. One of the quickest ways to kill your battery is to leave it in a hot car even for a short period of time. In fact, if you aren't going to use your battery for awhile, you are better off storing it in the refrigerator but NOT the freezer, that will kill it too.

Avoid completely discharging your battery where possible. While other types of rechargeables like nickel cadmium batteries need to be completely discharged, doing this with lithium ion batteries will kill it. As much as possible, recharge your battery when it has around 40% of its battery power left. Recharge often.