How to extend your Lithium ion battery life?

This is an extended post of "How to take care of your laptop battery".

Today mobile gadget mostly use Lithium ion or Li-ion battery as it power source. Battery is important to mobile gadget. It includes mobile phones, laptop or anything mobile. But do we know how to extend the life of the battery so that we can use it for long term of time.Trust me it is important as you can save money and makes your work more efficiently. So what should you do.?

• Keep the batteries at room temperature 

  You need to store the battery at room temperature that is between 20 and 25 degrees Celcius. You should not charging or leaving your battery at the hot area, this because Li-ion mostt enemy is heat as it can damaging your battery and shorten it life.

• Get a high-capacity lithium-ion battery, rather than a spare battery

  When purchasing battery, make sure you get the high capacity one, as a spare battery cannot last longer than the high capacity one. What's important is whether the battery is used or not, it'll still damaging over time. Also when buying a new battery, make sure to get the one of latest manufactured date, as the the old manufactured will not last longer.

• Allow partial discharges and avoid full ones

  Li-ion batteries do not have a charge memory, unlike NiCad batteries. It means deep-discharge cycles are not required, in fact, it’s better for the battery to use partial-discharge cycles. 

  There is an exception. Battery experts suggest that after 30 charges, you should allow Li-ion batteries to do almost completely discharge. Continuous partial discharges create a condition called digital memory, decreasing the accuracy of the device’s power gauge. So let the battery discharge to the cut-off point and then recharge. The power gauge will then be recalibrated.

• Avoid completely discharging Li-ion batteries

  If a Li-ion battery is discharged below 2.5 volts per cell, a safety circuit built into the battery opens and the battery appears to be dead. The original charger will be of no use. Only battery analyzers with the boost function have a chance of recharging the battery. 

  For safety reasons, do not recharge deeply discharged lithium-ion batteries if they have been stored in that condition for several months.

• Discharge to 40 percent and store in a cool place

  For extended usage of the battery while it is not used, discharge the Li-ion batteries at 40 percent and store it in the refrigerator not a freezer.