Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
41–50 of 249 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#42You should unplug it before it reaches 100% unless you know you'll need the full charge. Letting the battery sit at 100% wears it out more than sitting at 40-80%.
It's not right to assume that also applies to in-use products, especially the way people use them. In fact you'd likely reduce battery life because you're putting the battery through a greater depth of discharge (DoD). Assume you let it run from 80% to 60%, you've just gone through a cycle of 20% discharge when you could have kept the DoD at 1%. Also, most modern laptops will run on power once charged, so it's not like an infinite number of 1% cycles.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_li...
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#43Lenovo at one time (they still might, I'm not sure) included a piece of software that allowed the user to optimize charging for battery life. Basically, it would stop the battery from reaching 100% of a charge. Great idea, except that if you forgot to turn this feature off and had to leave, you might leave the house with just 60% battery life.
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#44You should have talked to Google, instead of numerous people. http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_li... Summary: Similar to a mechanical device that wears out faster with heavy use, so also does the depth of discharge (DoD) determine the cycle count. The shorter the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid full discharges and charge the battery more often…
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130825212946A...
Lithium ion batteries do seem to have memory.
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#45I know there can be a fine line between a good, thought-provoking question and a useless one, and, to me at least, this seems too far on the "useless question" side of things. It's about basic hardware maintenance, and I'm honestly surprised it's gotten 37 points in 22 minutes (so far).
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#46Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#47In short, leave it in because it's not worth worrying about.
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#48Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#49You can control the battery % at which a device will begin and stop charging - so there's no need for this. Idk what all this misinformation is about.
Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?
#50I think I just found my project. Stay tuned!