Battery Do’s and Don’ts for maximal Battery Lifespan

Batteries are a convenient part of our daily life. They facilitate our work, entertainment and social life. Most of the time, we don’t think much about them. Unless they are empty. And sometimes it seems like they discharge faster every time.

In today’s blog article, we would like to give you an understanding of what you can do to make your batteries last longer.

THE ADVANTAGES OF LITHIUM BATTERIES

In consumer electronics as well as in UPS systems and solar power storage systems, Lithium Ion Batteries are predominantly used because the material allows a very high charge capacity relative to the battery’s weight and size. Apart from that, another advantage is that Li-Ion Batteries don’t suffer from the memory effect. The memory effect means that a battery would memorize if it is not discharged completely before recharging and would therefore reduce the amount of time after which you need to charge it again. If phone batteries had this effect, we would have to replace them quite often.

You can charge your phone or laptop at every state of charge and it won’t affect its capacity. Nevertheless, each complete charge/discharge cycle will reduce the battery’s capacity to a slight extent. This means, you were right thinking that your phone battery discharges faster after you have used it for a while.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT YOUR LI-ION BATTERY FROM WEARING DOWN

• Avoid extreme temperatures
  Batteries are very sensitive when it comes to heat. It can damage your battery severely and permanently, if the temperature rises above 35° degrees. 
  
  If the temperature falls below 0° degrees, you might experience a shorter cycle but this effect is only temporary. To summarize: Store, use and charge your battery at a comfortable room temperature around 20° degrees.

• Charge your battery partially 
  Contrary to the common opinion, it is better to charge lithium-ion batteries partially rather than letting it discharge completely before a charger is connected. The latter is called deep cycling and it would lower the battery’s capacity in the long-term.

• Reduce the total number of cycles
  Batteries usually last a certain number of complete cycles. You can extend their lifespan by keeping this number as small as possible. 
  
  If you have a look at the power settings of your laptop, you will often be able to switch on an energy saving mode. Regarding your phone: just turn it off at night and or have a daily smartphone free period. This will reduce the energy the devices are using and therefore make the cycles last longer.
• Keep your batteries clean
  If your batteries or battery management system (BMS) become dusty, it will negatively affect its performance. If your battery is removable, take it out and wipe the contact points with a soft cloth to remove any dirt. Be careful not to make metallic contact of the battery poles, this will cause a short circuit.