Netbook / Laptop - run it on battery or A/C power ?

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Netbook / Laptop - run it on battery or A/C power ?

Post by Sethioz »

I have read lot of stuff on this, however it still remains bit confusing.
there are so many theorys, but no 100% accurate answer. i haven't seen anyone making a test and posting results.

So what is better for netbook / laptop or any other battery powered device, leave it plugged in and use A/C power or unplug as soon as battery is 100% and let it drain, then charge.

* my guess, keep it on A/C power for as long as possible, because battery is like anything else, when using, it wears out.
more you discharge and charge, the more and faster it wears, however some people have other theories.

* Some places explained that when keeping A/C power on, it passes electricity thru battery and heating it up more and damaging it more, however i disagree with this fact, nowday technology is made NOT to overcharge, meaning that once battery is full, it won't get charged anymore and power goes straight into the unit and not into battery or thru battery.
netbooks / laptops can run without battery, that should already prove the fact that they are not powered thru battery and there is a system that prevents "reverse charging".

* another thing i heard, is that it depends on battery. that old Ni-Cd or in general Nickel based batteries should be discharged and not charged before its fully depleted or very close to depleation, but Lithium-Ion batteries can be charged at any time and they won't get damaged when keeping at 100% charge.

* there is also theory and somewhat logic about heat. that what damages the battery, is not the fact that you keep it either battery powered and then charging or keeping A/C on at all times, but the fact that when A/C power is on, netbooks / laptops tend to get hotter, since they usually switch to higher performance profile, like screen brightness ..etc.
and then that heat damages the battery, which does make sense, batteries should not be hot.

so what is better ?? i don't have the oppertunity right now to test, but i think this needs proper testing, getting 6 identical netbooks / laptops from same patch to eliminate the differences, keep 2 of them on constant A/C power and 2 of them discharge / charge and see which battery dies faster. and 2 would be controls, which are used daily, like every person would use it, take it with him/her, use it at home ..etc. in other words, both. keeping A/C on for a day and next day half and half ..etc.

considering my somewhat accidental test, i say keeping A/C on at all times wins. I just noticed that my battery won't even start charging when its like 97%. Not sure how much power it has to lose before it actually starts charging.
My battery was 100% when A/C was on, i unplugged and it showed 99% (its normal). i kept it like this for a while, then plugged A/C back on, then A/C out again and battery seem to be draining, but not charging. i unplugged for 2nd or 3rd time and i have 97% left, but as soon as i plug A/C in, it says 100% without charging even for 1 second. This is also normal and i have seen this before, that's what protect battery from this charging myth.
in fact im quite sure that keeping A/C will not damage the battery and won't shorten battery's lifespan.
however i would like to see someone test in controlled environment.
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