Battery Charging Control Software - laptop

[_zeb_]

Hi!

I don't know if this is the right forum for this kind of question but I'll give it a shot since there is plenty of knowledge among the writers here.

My question is this: Is there a software that can control the battery charging of a laptop so the battery isn't charged when you connect it to the AC?

Let me clarify...for what I know there isn't good for a battery to get "trickle" charged all the time, especially if the trickle current is too high. To get around that problem there would be terrific if some sort of software (or bios setting) could control the charging of the battery when you run your laptop on AC. Let's say, if the battery drops to 20% then the charging kicks in and it charges the battery. For a lithium-ion battery to drop to that point when just running on AC (and not being charged that is) would take considerable amount of time.

I'm not sure if that would save battery life but I'd like to think so anyway because you won't get that continous trickle charge that I think is far from optimal in many cases...I think the charge is too powerful in many cases.

Regards,
Zeb

 

[Anders]

Hello Zeb.

I don't know if there is that kind of software.


I always remove the battery pack if I am using AC and charge it to 80-90% if I had used it on battery.

I think it is good for battery life.

Anders

 

[koala]

I always remove the battery pack if I am using AC and charge it to 80-90% if I had used it on battery.

I think it is good for battery life.

Anders

It sure is! If you just arrived at the office to start your 8hr job there is no need for mobility then take it off! Laptop on AC usually run hotter although some recent processor technologies has improved on efficiency and power consumption. If your battery getting hot during AC usage, I suggest that you remove it, heat kills your cells.

Your laptop usually has a seperate hardware IC chip for charging the battery. Depending on the design it can read and supply battery information to the operating system. Not sure what sort of chip your laptop use. If it can be controlled it's probably low level programming.

 

[_zeb_]

Hello Zeb.

I don't know if there is that kind of software.


I always remove the battery pack if I am using AC and charge it to 80-90% if I had used it on battery.

I think it is good for battery life.

Anders

Hi!

Yeah I remove it too if I'm going to use the laptop for an extended period of time but it's a little bit of hassle doing so and I think it's wearing down the contacts if you doing it every day.


-----
Koala:

Yup, you're prolly right about the low level programming that is needed. I hope some one has done it because my assembler skills are kind of....let's say rusty

----

//Zeb

 

[Power Me Up]

I would suspect that in the majority of cases, there would be no way to control the way that the laptop battery is charged.

In those cases where it is possible (if any) it would most likely be specific to each individual manufacturer, so if you did find a method that worked for one brand, it'd be unlikely to work for other brands...

As far as storing Li-Ion cells, I believe that the best way to store them to reduce their capacity loss over time is at 40% charge. Cooler conditions are also better as well.

For most people, leaving the battery in can be a good thing since it effectively gives them the same benefit as a UPS if the power ever fails on them. I've got a UPS running my entire office, so I'd consider removing the battery from my laptop except for the fact that one of the rubber feet is attached to the battery