we have more and more gadgets and devices at home such as smart speakers, remote controls, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, alarms, clocks, connected home equipment, music players, etc.
Many of them are wireless and they work thanks to a battery with greater or lesser capacity that we have to recharge periodically, an action that we routinely do without stopping to think about what is the most appropriate method for maximize durability of it and thereby ensure the proper functioning of our devices.
And this time it has been iberdrola who has published an interesting recipe book with tips to maximize battery life and thus be able to extract all the value from the kilowatts that we use in its recharge.
Load times and percentages
One of the key points when recharging a lithium battery like the one that comes standard in our devices is related to the loading times and with him percentage of energy stored.
If this is the first time that we are going to charge the equipment, it is convenient to do it 100%, but once this procedure has been completed, the following times it is convenient maintain a charge level between 20 and 80%.
This does not mean that if we go outside of these margins we are going to damage the battery, but as we already discussed in this article, there are different studies that ensure that it is possible to achieve a longer useful life of the battery cells, which the long will allow our beloved gadget last us more years.
In fact, in the world of mobile telephony there are operating systems that are already designed to monitor these percentages and optimize the charging process, something that we will have to make us manually in the rest of the less “intelligent” devices, pending the achievement of levels within those margins.
Of course, if it is a device that we charge almost daily, the recommendation is that at least once a month let’s charge it to the maximum capacity to improve the duration of the recharge cycles offered by the battery.
Is it possible to leave the equipment all day charging the battery? With modern lithium batteries there is no problem, since in general they do not have a memory effect and the devices disconnect the charging system when they are at maximum.
However, if we want to respect that rule of loading less than 80%, it will be convenient to be aware or even if we know how long it takes to load, we can use a smart plug with a timer so that it turns itself off.
Charging temperature, cleaning and use in charge
Another of the classic recommendations when charging our batteries consists of use original chargers that came with the equipment, or if not at least that they are official from the manufacturer compatible with our model. So we make sure that the correct voltage and current are used and the battery cells are not degraded.
In addition, another factor that should be monitored so that the battery lasts for many years is related to the charging temperatures. Many times we just start recharging without stopping to think if it is too hot or cold in the room, which can reduce the capacity of the cells.
According to Iberdrola, it is advisable to recharge the batteries with ambient temperatures between 16 and 22 degrees Celsiusso in the summer it is important to do it in a cool room or wait for nighttime hours, and of course do not leave the equipment charging in full sun.
Another variable that needs to be taken into account is the humiditywhich when excessive can cause the device to discharge faster and may be damaged.
Related to the issue of temperatures we have the recommendation of avoid using the equipment while we are charging itEspecially if it’s hot in the room. If we do this frequently (for example, we have the typical case of the laptop that we use connected to the electrical current all day), in general we will be forcing the battery and the electronic components, obtaining an overheating that can degrade the proper functioning of the system.
It is also convenient do minimal connection maintenance equipment loading. It is not about spending all day looking to see if they are clean, but it does not hurt to check that there is no lint or dirt on the connector or on the charger and that the latter does not make strange noises and the plug pins are in good condition.
Lastly, if we are thinking of going on a trip or we know that we are not going to use the device for a long time (more than a week), as we have seen before, the recommendation is leave it with the battery at half charge to prevent it from degrading.
Cover image | thomas colnowski
In Xataka Smart Home | We review the keys to keep the battery of our devices in good condition when we do not use them for days