Battery All information about battery charging and usage. Mobile devices are becoming the norm when it comes to personal technology, which means that most of the technology you use every day involves a battery of some sort. This means you have to charge when the power runs out, but do you really know the right way to do it?
Many people seem skeptical about battery charging. There are a lot of myths and downright bad practices going on, so we decided to create a definitive guide on battery life charging so you can spend less time worrying about your battery and more time enjoying your devices.
Lithium battery and how to charge the battery.
One of the most important things to know about a battery is that there are so many different ways to make it. All batteries use chemicals to store electrical energy, but the specific chemistry at work determines what the properties of the battery are.
For example, a nickel-cadmium battery can be charged relatively quickly, but the battery has a condition known as the “memory effect”, where the capacity is reduced if the battery is not fully discharged before being recharged. . Nickel metal hydride batteries have a higher capacity than nickel cadmium, but are more susceptible to overcharge and cannot withstand multiple charge cycles.
For most modern electronics, the battery chemistry of choice is lithium-ion. Especially lithium polymer batteries. These batteries have the highest power-to-weight ratio, which makes them perfect for cell phones, laptops, and drones. This article is mainly about lithium-ion batteries as they are so common now.
If you have to deal with recharging batteries that use up other chemistry, make sure you do some homework on their quirks. right place to start Battery University is .
Battery charging methods and lifespan
Lithium polymer batteries have almost no disadvantages over the previous popular battery types. No memory effect, they charge very fast these days and are very affordable. However, they wear out every time you complete a full charge-discharge cycle. Each battery is rated for a certain number of these cycles, after which its maximum capacity begins to decline. Eventually the battery does not hold enough charge and needs to be replaced.
Today, devices such as phones, tablets, and even some laptops do not have removable batteries. Therefore, replacing them often requires an expensive trip to an authorized dealer.
The good news is that you can extend the life of the battery in a number of ways. Check out our in-depth guide on how to protect your battery so it doesn’t need to be replaced more quickly than necessary.
Much of this is related to charging habits, such as allowing the lithium battery to discharge to 50% once or twice a month, or removing some devices from AC power after they are full. However, it’s a little more nuanced than that, so be sure to take a look at the above article if battery life is an issue that worries you.
using the right charger
Lithium batteries are actually highly volatile, so regulations require them to have advanced protection to prevent flames, explosions and other dangerous events.
You might remember that a few years back, imported electric scooters were responsible for burning down many people’s homes. This is because these devices lack the safety features mandated by European and US authorities. Therefore, the lithium battery inside was improperly charged, causing an out-of-control reaction.
Therefore, it is very important that you only use battery charging equipment that complies with the safety standards of Turkey or the region in which you live. Do not purchase or use chargers or batteries that have not been approved as such. While devices like smartphones have safety features to prevent such catastrophic failures, they rely at least partially on attached chargers.
While safety is a major reason to use the right charger, charging speed is another reason to pair the right charger with your device. Different devices may have different fast charging standards. So if you use chargers and phones with incompatible fast charging standards, those standards will fall back to the lowest common denominator.
USB has a safe, but very slow base charge speed. It features “Fast Charge” on Qualcomm, “Adaptive Fast Charge” on Samsung, and USB 3.1 “Power Delivery” over USB-C.
Most modern chargers support multiple fast charging modes, so at least one will probably work with your device. However, in almost all cases you will get the best results with a charger from the same manufacturer as the device.
Some power banks, such as the Romos 30+ model, support almost any type of connection and both Quick Charge and USB-C Power Delivery. It can also fast charge itself, which makes a difference to such a large bank.
Well, if you want to know more about power banks, check out our detailed article on these handy portable power bricks.
software battery charge control
Modern devices with lithium batteries, such as smartphones or laptops, often have advanced battery charging software that helps manage the health of these batteries. It monitors temperature and voltage, keeps detailed records of battery history, and checks charge levels based on device usage.
For example, even if your phone may appear to be 100% charged, the truth is probably a little less than that. Since Lithium batteries tend to wear out rapidly when constantly kept at 100% capacity, the phone will discharge slightly if plugged in overnight to prevent battery stress.
The latest macOS devices also have this feature. If you use your MacBook plugged in most of the time, the battery will discharge up to 90% and stay there, which will greatly extend the life of the battery.
Long Term Battery Battery Storage
This introduces another problem with battery charging: device storage. Lithium batteries automatically discharge slowly from sitting on a shelf. If you let it fully discharge, the battery may become permanently unusable. However, charging them to 100% and then storing them is also not a good idea, for the same reasons we discussed above.
On DJI’s Drone We can learn from “smart” batteries, such as the ones found, that tell how much time has elapsed from being used. Leave them on the shelf for too long and they will self-discharge to about 60% capacity and then try to maintain that.
If you’re going to be lifting a phone or other lithium device for a long time, charge it to about 60% before lifting it. Then check once a month to make sure the battery isn’t below 30%. Charge up to 60% if it reaches that figure. That way, the battery should be fine even when you need to use it again.
Lithium Battery Resuscitation
Lithium batteries have a protection circuit that will put the battery into sleep mode if the battery is over-discharged. In some cases, it is possible to bring these batteries back to life using special chargers with “boost” mode.
This is not always successful and can be dangerous to try if the battery has been overdischarged for too long. If you have a battery that cannot be easily replaced, we recommend taking it to a professional for a resuscitation test.
battery charge protection
As we mentioned earlier, lithium batteries are highly volatile. While modern lithium batteries have many safety features built in, they still fail. One of the most sensitive times is during the charging process, so you need to be extra careful when squeezing your lithium-powered device.
Never charge a device with a swollen, swollen battery. While some heating is normal when charging a lithium battery, a very hot device can be a sign of sudden failure.
Consider carefully where you charge your devices. Is it close to other easily flammable objects? It is preferable to charge lithium devices in a designated area where battery failure may exist. If you’re really concerned, consider getting a lipo guard. You can put a charger or battery in it, in case of failure, the explosion and flame is contained in the special material from which the bag is made.
spare battery
No matter how well you handle your batteries, they will eventually need to be replaced. Whether you do it yourself or have it installed professionally, be very careful with the batteries you choose. There are many fake batteries or poor quality unauthorized batteries in the market.
They can look attractive with features and capability on the same paper at a lower cost. However, using such a battery greatly increases the chances of something going wrong. All the stories of people being harmed by phones exploding in people’s faces or pockets were used more frequently than fake batteries. Not worth saving a few bucks.
