Does it hurt my laptop battery to keep it plugged in when I'm at home?

Question

I just recently bought a laptop and a docking station for my home. I leave it plugged in the docking station most of the time, and I've heard it could damage the battery life. Is this true?

I want to use it for both portability and home-use. I'll get home and charge it for a day or two and then need to unplug it and take it to school. It may discharge to around 50% when I plug it back in. Should I be letting it discharge completely? Or is this OK?

Answer 1

Plugging it in is fine.

Virtually all laptops simply turn off the charging circuit when the battery reports 100% -- so once it's fully charged, it doesn't continue to try to charge it. So no need of worry of "damage" here.

However, laptop batteries discharge (on purpose) over time -- so if it isn't being used, a fully charged battery will eventually not be charged at all. This is to prevent long term damage - since having a charge accellerates degredation.

So, what can happen -- again, speaking very long term -- is that a day goes by, the battery has discharged to 99%, then the AC charges it back up to 100%. This should only be a concern if it's virtually always in the charger - and not used as a portable. To extend battery life, you can completely discharge the battery every now and then and toss it in the closet while you're using the laptop on the docking station.

Better yet, if you don't use the battery you don't really need to have it plugged in. If it stays on the docking station days or weeks at a time --- almost certainly take it out.

Li-Ion batteries degrade continiously from manufacturing date, but this process can certainly be sped up considerably, mostly by having a charge in the battery - but also temperature+max charge.

Best-case scenerio is when you aren't using the battery, that it's discharged and in a cool (not cold) place. Of course, this isn't very realistic or practical, but something to keep in mind. Anytime you can have a discharged battery it's extending the life.

(If it's Li-Ion, assuming so, if you have a Ni-Cad one or something, edit your question)

Answer 2

From my experience,,I had a laptop that I used as a desktop for a year or two and the one time I needed to use it on Battery ,the Battery lasted about 3 minutes and started to die so I would most definitely say Yes it does .

Answer 3

No it will not. It is best to keep it plugged in as much as possible. It has the battery only for convenience. Use it sparingly. What causes most problems with laptop is lack of cooling. Never let it lay flat, always elevate it either on the legs provided or somehow. It will save a lot of grief later. Auxiliary fans and cooling systems are available for about $40.00. Cheap for the protection they deliver.

Answer 4

Well with litiom Ion. Toyota and Honda are learning(given their hybrid cars) that it's actually not good to fully charge or let the charge get too low. So they are try to make it so the batteries will stop charging after so much and will covnert the car over to gas instead of letting the battery drain. Strange huh

Answer 5

you're able to get an prolonged existence than that out of it. it somewhat is often sturdy to empty the battery to virtually 0 once you first get it. over the years batteries, no remember the way you have used them, will lose that is skill to maintain a value.

Answer 6

No as long as it is fully charged, if it is partially charged the ni-cd battery will over heat and loose life.

Answer 7

dont worry about it .... they usually last 2-3 years and then degrade and then u buy a new laptop ... or a new battery ...

Answer 8

Yes it does