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Is it safe to leave my laptop plugged in?

MaggieD

MaggieD

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I rarely use it, but when I do, I'd like the battery to be charged.
 
As long it is a recent laptop with a Li-ion battery it should be fine.
 
MaggieD said:
I rarely use it, but when I do, I'd like the battery to be charged.
Click to expand...

Most, but not all, battery chargers are safe to leave plugged in. I would suggest reading the manual or asking the manufacturer to determine that answer.
 
MaggieD said:
I rarely use it, but when I do, I'd like the battery to be charged.
Click to expand...

I personally don't do it. If your battery is fully charged when you turn off your laptop, it should still be charged the next time you turn it on.
 
It's been my understanding that recent batteries (lithium-ion) have a 'memory.' What that means is that if the battery is only drawn down to certain point, (50%-20%-30%), it will remember that point and the life will be shortened to the memory point. The recommended procedure is to run the battery down to near 0% and then recharged. I concur with the poster that recommends getting in touch with the manufacturer.
 
mine is always plugged in

the days of needing to drain batteries to prolong the life are long gone

in fact my battery stops charging and allows itself some drain and then recharges

batteries like phones are "smart" these days
 
Rexedgar said:
It's been my understanding that recent batteries (lithium-ion) have a 'memory.' What that means is that if the battery is only drawn down to certain point, (50%-20%-30%), it will remember that point and the life will be shortened to the memory point. The recommended procedure is to run the battery down to near 0% and then recharged. I concur with the poster that recommends getting in touch with the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

The opposite is actually true. Lithium ion batteries should never be drained completely. Doing so shortens the life of the battery. You are thinking of the older Nickel Cadmium batteries. ;)

How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University

Similar to a mechanical device that wears out faster with heavy use, the depth of discharge (DoD) determines the cycle count of the battery. The smaller the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid full discharges and charge the battery more often between uses. Partial discharge on Li-ion is fine. There is no memory and the battery does not need periodic full discharge cycles to prolong life.
Click to expand...
 
MaggieD said:
I rarely use it, but when I do, I'd like the battery to be charged.
Click to expand...

If you don't plan on using it for awhile. like a day or so I would at least make sure you turn the laptop off when you leave the charger on like that.
Laptop batteries, like phone and tablet batteries only can be recharged a finite number of times and if your laptop is running it will deplete the battery a little and the charger will charge it, leading to several charge cycles a day. not that its a huge deal but after time they start holding a smaller and smaller charge until you end up deciding to buy a new battery.
 
Rexedgar said:
It's been my understanding that recent batteries (lithium-ion) have a 'memory.' What that means is that if the battery is only drawn down to certain point, (50%-20%-30%), it will remember that point and the life will be shortened to the memory point. The recommended procedure is to run the battery down to near 0% and then recharged. I concur with the poster that recommends getting in touch with the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

lithium ion does not hold a memory, they can be charged and discharged at will, you are thinking the older ni-cad batteries with held a memory and needed to be killed and recharged to full or their life suffered.
 
MaggieD said:
I rarely use it, but when I do, I'd like the battery to be charged.
Click to expand...

If it is a modern laptop with a lithium ion battery it should be ok, older ones with nicad and various other batteries can have issues. Even early lithium ion batteries from the late 90's say win 98 period can have issues, as their boards were not as smart and could not perfectly control charge, leading to overcharge.

If it was made after the windows 98/me/early xp era it most likely has advanced charging controls to prevent overcharge.
 
Rexedgar said:
It's been my understanding that recent batteries (lithium-ion) have a 'memory.' What that means is that if the battery is only drawn down to certain point, (50%-20%-30%), it will remember that point and the life will be shortened to the memory point. The recommended procedure is to run the battery down to near 0% and then recharged. I concur with the poster that recommends getting in touch with the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

This is correct. There's a circuit (the 'memory' mentioned) inside to keep lion batteries from over-charging or draining entirely. Either one is bad, but overcharging can = fire.

The ideal charging circuit will only turn on when the battery drops below a certain specified point. That should give it enough charge/discharge operation to keep it healthy if it's always plugged in. Checking the manufacturer's recs here is key.

Disclaimer - I haven't personally done any design work with those things in about 4 years, so this could be slightly stale.
 
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