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Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#141

Post by x0054 »

JoshGlazebrook wrote: post #125
DavideNL wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's nice to know. However, i'd rather buy a new battery after 5 years (if my laptop is still fit and the battery is dead), than having to complicate my life and think about when to unplug or charge my laptop multiple times each day for 5 years... My Macbook air from mid 2011 is currently at 100/6700*5629 = 84% battery health. (6700 = design capacity, gathered from "ioreg -l -n AppleSmartBattery -r".

Is your machine even operational? My macbook air from 2011 (with Yosemite) is sluggish to the point of being unbearable to use and just collects dust.

Switch to OSX 10.9, problem solved. My 2012 rMBP with top end specs is also sluggish on 10.10.3. Not sure what Apple is thinking. On the other hand I am still using my 2003 Panasonic CF 73. It's not quick, but for the limited tasks of automating my DSLR it works perfect.

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#142

Post by tgb »

bkanber wrote: post #58

Source: I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering in hybrid vehicle powertrains, and a big part of my research was battery technology. I spent some time working with the folks at National Semiconductor learning this, so I have several primary sources. Disclaimer: my knowledge of the field is from ca 2010. 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100%…

> 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100% too much.

Great. Another reason to avoid barely-one-day batteries on phones. They'll die sooner!

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#143

Post by [deleted] »

bkanber wrote: post #58

Source: I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering in hybrid vehicle powertrains, and a big part of my research was battery technology. I spent some time working with the folks at National Semiconductor learning this, so I have several primary sources. Disclaimer: my knowledge of the field is from ca 2010. 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100%…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#144

Post by keithpeter »

therobot24 wrote: post #105
brador wrote: post #47

Consider the cost of a replacement battery and if it's worth the subconcious mental strain this consideration places on you. In short, leave it in because it's not worth worrying about.

seriously, i can get a battery for my T410 for ~20$ on amazon, i'm not going to spend my time plugging and unplugging.

Agreed.

I do leave small laptop on suspend overnight (not plugged in) and then I do use it on the train into work, so a small charge/discharge cycle each day.

The big typing box laptop (ancient T61p) is left on and plugged in a lot. May use a timer switch on the wall plug simply to reduce reliance on the overcharge protection in the battery/charger.

I think those with devices that have batteries that cannot be replaced may be more concerned.

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#145

Post by sean-duffy »

Surely laptop technology has advanced beyond the point of us having to manually manage battery health? The only reason I can imagine for people assuming this isn't dealt with for us by some control chip is a conspiracy that laptop manufacturers purposely limit the battery's life by not including this functionality. Which I suppose isn't hugely far fetched, but I'd still find it hard to believe.

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#146

Post by ingsoc79 »

DavideNL wrote: post #107
bkanber wrote: post #58

Source: I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering in hybrid vehicle powertrains, and a big part of my research was battery technology. I spent some time working with the folks at National Semiconductor learning this, so I have several primary sources. Disclaimer: my knowledge of the field is from ca 2010. 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100%…

That's nice to know. However, i'd rather buy a new battery after 5 years (if my laptop is still fit and the battery is dead), than having to complicate my life and think about when to unplug or charge my laptop multiple times each day for 5 years... My Macbook air from mid 2011 is currently at 100/6700*5629 = 84% battery health. (6700 = design capacity, gathered from "ioreg -l -n AppleSmartBattery -r".

Agreed. My mid-2012 Macbook Pro Retina has been plugged in @ 100% nearly all the time it's been in use. Pretty much the only time it's not plugged in is when traveling. Battery is at 7845/8460 CurrentCapacity/DesignCapacity or 93%.

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#147

Post by nosuchthing »

aqme28 wrote: post #121
bkanber wrote: post #58

Source: I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering in hybrid vehicle powertrains, and a big part of my research was battery technology. I spent some time working with the folks at National Semiconductor learning this, so I have several primary sources. Disclaimer: my knowledge of the field is from ca 2010. 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100%…

Why don't device manufacturers code this kind of thing into their power/battery drivers?

Granted device manufactures are pushing devices out every year or two, and it's in their best interest to offer the longest battery life possible, there is no incentive or evidence present that manufactures are limiting the maximum charge to prolong battery life.

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#149

Post by macns »

JoshGlazebrook wrote: post #125
DavideNL wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's nice to know. However, i'd rather buy a new battery after 5 years (if my laptop is still fit and the battery is dead), than having to complicate my life and think about when to unplug or charge my laptop multiple times each day for 5 years... My Macbook air from mid 2011 is currently at 100/6700*5629 = 84% battery health. (6700 = design capacity, gathered from "ioreg -l -n AppleSmartBattery -r".

Is your machine even operational? My macbook air from 2011 (with Yosemite) is sluggish to the point of being unbearable to use and just collects dust.

my macbook 2008 running os x 10.7.5, 128gb ssd and 4gb ram is still fast enough and gets the job done. It's even faster than the latest middle to low end windows PC's (dual boot with windows 7)

Re: Ask HN: Should I unplug my laptop charger at 100%?

#150

Post by tertius »

gpvos wrote: post #115
bkanber wrote: post #58

Source: I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering in hybrid vehicle powertrains, and a big part of my research was battery technology. I spent some time working with the folks at National Semiconductor learning this, so I have several primary sources. Disclaimer: my knowledge of the field is from ca 2010. 1) Lots of deep discharge cycles do negatively affect battery life. Try not to jump between 0% and 100%…

So what my laptop should do automatically is to stop charging once it hits ~90%, and start charging again when it hits ~40%. And the OS should give me an easy-to-reach option to "charge to 100%" for when I'm about to make a trip. Why hasn't anyone implemented this yet?

I have this as "conservation mode" on my Lenovo Yoga Pro 2, and probably all new Lenovos.
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