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Useful Battery Tricks & Tips
We have collected some materials that may be useful for the people who using their laptop, digital camcorder and digital camra for entertainment, photo sharing,video recording and other purposes. Following these instructions may be extrmely good for your laptop computer,camcorder,digital camera and they sometimes are helpful on improving the performance of its battery . Please read the corresponding paragraph for details.
1. What is a battery?
2. How do I identify my battery?
3. What is the difference between Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Li-ion?
4. Do I have to condition my Laptop or Notebook battery?
5. What is "Memory Effect"?
6. How to lengthen the battery's life?
7. Laptop Battery Tips
8. Digital Camera Battery Tips
9. Camcorder Battery Tips
1. What is a battery?
Battery, can be any device that stores energy for later use. The word battery is limited to an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy into electricity, by use of a galvanic cell. A galvanic cell is a fairly simple device consisting of two electrodes (an anode and a cathode) and an electrolyte solution. Batteries consist of one or more galvanic cells.
A battery is an electrical storage device. Batteries do not make electricity, they store it. As chemicals in the battery change, electrical energy is stored or released. In rechargeable batteries, this process can be repeated many times.
2. How do I identify my battery?
Batteries are grouped into following categories: Alkaline battery, Zincic carbolic battery, Lead-Acid battery, nickel-metal-hydride, nickel-cadmium, Lithium battery, Li-ion battery, Li-polymer battery, Fuel cells, Solar cells, Other types of battery.
3. What is the difference between Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Li-ion?
Li-ion (Lithium Ion): This is one of the newest cell types available. It is also the lightest battery type currently available on a commercial basis and can provide more power than the other main cell types. There are no known problems of memory effect with Li-ion batteries. The downside of lithium-ion battery is that it has the highest engineering costs and therefore the price is usually considerably higher than other cell types.
Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride): This cell type is the most common cell type currently available for laptop computers, (although Li-ion is rapidly becoming the most popular) this battery type is relatively cheap to manufacture and therefore tends to be cheaper than Li-ion. This cell type is prone to 'memory effect' so it is important to take good care of your Ni-MH battery to ensure that you obtain the longest runtimes.
Ni-Cd (Nickel Cadmium): This is one of the oldest cell types and is generally only found in older laptops. The main pro for this cell type is its ability to handle higher loads, and therefore is more commonly found in portable power tools or devices that need a lot of power to work efficiently. The main downside of this cell type is that it is notorious for suffering with memory effect so good care must be taken with this battery to ensure most effective use of battery.
4. Do I have to condition my Laptop or Notebook battery?
Yes, it is very important to condition or fully discharge and then fully charge the battery every two to three weeks. Failure to do so may significantly shorten the battery's life (this does not apply to Li-Ion batteries, which do not require conditioning). To discharge, simply run the device under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in the user's manual.
5. What is "Memory Effect"?
The nickel-cadmium battery (commonly abbreviated NiCd) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes.
Ni-Cd batteries, and to a lesser extent Ni-MH batteries, suffer from what's called the "memory effect". What this means is that if a battery is repeatedly only partially discharged before recharging, the battery "forgets" that it has the capacity to further discharge all the way down. To illustrate: If you, on a regular basis, fully charge your battery and then use only 50% of its capacity before the next recharge, eventually the battery will become unaware of its extra 50% capacity which has remained unused. The battery will remain functional, but only at 50% of its original capacity. The way to avoid the dreaded "memory effect" is to fully cycle (fully charge and then fully discharge) the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Batteries can be discharged by unplugging the device's AC adapter and letting the device run on the battery until it ceases to function. This will ensure your battery remains healthy.
6. How to lengthen the battery's life?
Always avoid using the lithium battery under the high temperature environment; High temperature condition can accelerate the lithium battery ageing process;And don't use your battery under the extremely low temperature environment. The low temperature environment can reduce the lithium battery activeness, reduces the notebook battery's life.
7. Laptop Battery Tips
<1> If you have a new laptop battery , it comes in a discharged condition and must be charged before use. Upon initial use (or after prolonged storage period) the battery may require two to three charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity.
<2> Do not leave your notebook battery dormant for long periods of time. It's recommend using the battery at least once every two to three weeks. If a laptop computer battery has not been used for a long period of time, perform the new battery procedure described at above point.
<3> Keep your laptop battery clean, it's a good idea to clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This helps maintain a good connection between the battery and your laptop.
8. Digital Camera Battery Tips
<1> If you are not planning on using your digital camera for a while (months?), it may be wise to take your batteries out of your digital camera for storage. This reduces the chance of battery leakage and corrosion, which can seriously damage your digital camera's internals.
<2> If it is raining, or if you are near an area of running water such as a waterfall, be extremely careful when changing out your digital camera battery or batteries. Get a safe distance away from the water or water vapor before you do so. Water can corrode your battery or batteries, possibly causing leakage, and this can damage your digital camera as well if you insert the wet batteries.
9. Camcorder Battery Tips
<1> Protect camcorder batteries from condensation by storing them in a zipped plastic bag.
Allow batteries to reach room temperature before inserting them into your camcorder (cold temperatures impair their performance).
<2> Depending on what and where you are shooting, you may have cause to pause for several minutes between shots. Switching to 'stand-by' or 'off' when you aren't recording can save you several minutes of camcorder battery life.
