Close Applications – The more applications you have running, the more power you are using. Close down unused applications, particularly Adobe programs and Office programs. Do one task at a time, with the fewest necessary applications. 

Remove External Devices – Anything that plugs into your computer will consume power. This goes for USB devices (external hard drives, iPods, etc), memory cards, wireless EVDO cards – you name it. 

Plan Ahead – Let’s face it: we’ve all been on that long flight pleading with our laptop battery for just another half hour of life. Maybe we’ve realized our over-consuming mistakes too late, and with time running out we scroll and click frantically like Jack Bauer racing the clock, closing applications, dimming the screen, yanking memory cards out…if only we had done this before take-off! And that’s just what needs to happen. Prior to boarding, while plugged into the outlet at the gate workstation, take the necessary steps to prepare your laptop and your battery for the long flight ahead. If you have files to access on an external, transfer them to your laptop so you won’t have to plug in on board. Access your Power Management options and, if the feature is there, set the laptop for “Max Battery.” Take a few minutes to follow the above steps before you go to battery power, and you won’t be the questionable individual slamming your notebook on the tray table. 

As for lengthening the overall lifespan of a lithium ion battery, you can try storing it in a cool, dry place when not in use, and keeping it from extreme heat or prolonged exposure to sun. Anything over 95-degrees can reduce performance quicker. If you are going to be running on fixed power for some time, it is wise to consider removing the battery to keep it cool. When storing a lithium ion battery, do so with a 40-percent charge, and never stick it in the freezer. The refrigerator will do. 

The Future of the Notebook Battery
Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore sagely predicted over 50 years ago that the number of transistors placed on the integrated circuit would double every two years. “Moore’s Law,” as it is now known, has held true, and been accurately applicable for many electronic devices such as computer processing speed, memory, and even digital camera resolution. Sadly, this exponential increase does not hold true for the laptop battery capacity. “There’s no question that battery technology does not keep up the pace with the rest of computer technology,” states Cresegiona, “and we won’t see a change from Lithium anytime soon.”

The Lithium-polymer battery – a lightweight, shapeable form of lithium-ion – has seen much usage in cell phone and PDA application, but the expense and lack of increased capacity over LiON has kept it from surging into the laptop market. LiON laptop battery capacity increases have been previously measured at around 6-to-8-percent per year, a far cry from the rate of advancement in other areas of computer technology. “Greater capacity in lithium ion is achieved a couple of ways,” says Isidor Buchmann, founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics, and author of Batteries in a Portable World. “Reducing the thickness and increasing the density of the separating plates is one way,” he continues, “but it can also lead to complications and recalls.” Lithium may be making headway into other areas of application – most notably cars and solar-power storage – but it might be some time before we see it replaced in our laptops by the next new power source.

The fuel cell is one possible source. This past July PolyFuel, a company engineering membranes for fuel cells, announced a prototype power supply for laptops that consists of small cartridges of methanol fuel. Each cartridge is about the size of a deck of cards, and can be swapped out while the computer is still running. According to the company’s info, a single cartridge could potentially power a converted laptop for up to 10 hours. Refillable, the methanol cartridges would be lighter than the LiON batteries they promise to replace, and some suggest that 10-hour runtimes aren’t even close to the technology’s full potential.

Some, like Buchmann, are skeptical about fuel cells powering our laptops. “There is no replacement for the lithium-ion battery,” Buchmann insists, adding that the current fuel cells being tested are not powerful enough to run a laptop. Whether your fuel cell glass is half-full or half-empty, fuel-cell-powered laptops won’t be hitting shelves for a while, and until then consumers best get the most out of their lithium ion.

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Ben Hardy - Contributing Writer

Between watching re-runs of the The Jetsons and convincing his Insteon and Z-Wave controls to get along, Ben Hardy is immersed in the world of home automation, home control, and home networking.