Lithium-Ion is now becoming more and more popular in many electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs, power tools, portable CD players, laptops and more.
There are many ways to conserve battery power and even take care of your batteries to increase battery longevity. Take a look at these following procedures, and I’m sure that they are helpful for you.
Keep the Li-ion battery at a suitable temperature
Both the state of charge and the life of the battery also depends on the temperature. High charge levels and high temperatures will lead to a short life. Heat is the largest factor to reduce lithium-ion battery life, run time, and even the charge capacity.
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So, you need to put the battery at the appropriate temperature. The recommended temperature is between 20 degrees and 25 degrees C.
Remember not to charge or put your mobile device’s battery in your car as it is hot. In addition, it’s also not good to put the devices at the freezing area, especially prohibiting charging below 0°C because this makes the battery unstable and unsafe.
Don’t overcharge or charge your li-ion battery fully
You should not charge your battery to 100̀% because it can decrease the lifespan. It’s better if you disconnect the charger when the battery reaches 85% or a little more. Don’t plug in your device as it finishes.
Otherwise, it is overcharged and this has a bad impact on your device. Furthermore, remember to connect the charger before you plug in your device to the power outlet. If you do that commonly, you will prolong the life cycle of the li-ion battery. It’s better if you can charge the battery regularly and avoid full discharge.
In addition, the battery needs to charge even when it is low enough, in detail, 50%. You will not improve the full function of your device if it having a fully charged battery. Thus, don’t forget to check the battery before you decide to plug them in the charger. Have a look at the small battery icon in the menu bar of each device to know the remaining of the battery.
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Keep your lithium battery at a 40% charge state during storage periods
It’s harmful to fully discharge or fully charge the battery when you decide to store your device. The best level is at 40% charge and 60 degrees.
40% charge is the ideal level for self-discharge, and it is necessary to keep a battery and its protection circuit operational during long periods of storage.
This type of battery works well as it is charged off and on throughout the day. Experts say that it’s better if you charge the device from approximately 40% up to approximately 80% at a time. Shallow discharge is good for battery health because it maximizes the finite number of charge/discharge cycles and maintains the lifespan of the battery.
When charging, turn off your device
As you are going to charge your device if you don’t need to use it, make sure that you shut it down completely with the power switch or button.
Therefore, the li-ion battery is charged more effectively. Technically, if your device is turned off once charging, this type of battery can reach the set voltage threshold without being hindered.
Otherwise, the battery can’t charge effectively if the device is still left on. Nevertheless, you don’t need to worry so much if it’s not able to have a switched off device. It’s not a serious problem, although maintaining the habit of turning off the device is better.
Discharge the li-ion battery completely once per month
Discharging the battery completely has its own benefit so that you should let the battery reach 0% occasionally once a month.
It may cause the smart battery to become de-calibrated and to give inaccurate readings by the shallow discharging. But it is able to recalibrate the smart battery by discharging the battery completely.
However, it can have a bad effect on the lifespan of your lithium-ion battery if you let it drop to 0% usually, just once per month is enough.
To sum up
Li-ion battery has a positive impact on our life because it is on many useful devices. These devices are really necessary for our daily life, so if you can keep an eye on them well, they can help you so much.
Li-ion battery is considered as a huge improvement over previous types of batteries, but it still needs to be taken care of and used carefully.
I hope that these tips are useful to help extend 18650 Lithium-Ion Battery Life.