6 Important Factors For Selecting Laptop Battery

A laptop differentiates itself from a desktop by its mobility. The device that makes the laptop mobile
is the battery inside it. Many professions and higher educations depend on laptop computer in order for them to function properly. Perhaps without a laptop battery there can be a great impact in their day to day life.

Just like other electronic devices a laptop battery has a finite lifespan. On average a laptop battery can last up to 2-3 years or 500 cycles depending on the manufacturer. A laptop battery death is a slower process where at one point it is impossible to use the battery further, making the laptop rely on a power supply all the time. When this happens it can drastically affect the performance of the laptop on every level. Therefore the only option for the user to bring back the performance and the mobility of the laptop is to replace the battery.

Even though there are few laptops that comes with the non-removable battery, almost all the laptops today comes with the removable battery type. However even with the removable batteries there should be many factors considered before choosing a replacement laptop battery. Because using a wrong laptop battery may result in a fire or an explosion.

In this tutorial, I will be discussing the 6 important factors for selecting laptop battery. At the end of this post, you will know how to buy the correct laptop battery for a replacement.

Let's move to the topic,

1. Battery Model

The most important factor to consider when choosing a laptop battery is to find the battery model. Even same manufacturers make laptop batteries with different model numbers. Identifying them can save significant amount of time spent in finding the correct replacement battery. 

Usually the manufacturer, battery model number, country which it is made of and warning signs are printed on the label of the battery. Battery model number is specified in bold which contains letters and numbers. 

 

Even though the model number is unique for every battery, still there are some local manufacturers that design duplicate products. Therefore always trust in products from reputable manufacturers.

2. Battery Capacity

Battery capacity is the amount of energy stored inside the battery. Perhaps the battery capacity determines how long a battery will be running on a system. Generally a battery capacity is indicated by 3 notations, Watt hour (Wh), Amp hour (Ah) and Milliamp hour (mah) (1 Ah is equals to 1000 mah). 

 

Out of these mah is the most used notation for battery capacity. When choosing a laptop battery based on its capacity, its recommended to select according to your system and the work load you do with the laptop. 

 

If your computer consumes more power and you do heavy tasks every day with your laptop, choose a battery with higher capacity. On the other hand, if you are using your laptop only for the basic level of works choose a lower capacity battery.

3. Battery Voltage

Voltage is the difference in potential energy generated by the battery. Like the model number it is too indicated on the label of the battery. There are 4 types of voltage measurements depending on the state of the battery, those are the float voltage, nominal voltage, charge voltage and discharge voltage. 

Apart from that most of the laptop batteries today comes under the voltage range of 7.2V to 14.8V. Sometimes there are chances that the same battery model number will have 2 different voltages. 

 

Therefore to easily select a battery according to the voltage, choose a battery that has the closest value to the voltage of your laptop. Perhaps choosing a battery that is high in voltage is fine as long as it is not too high but do not consider going for low voltage amounts.

4. Check the Connectors

Connector is the place where the battery and the laptop lineup. Make sure to check the connectors in the laptop battery you choose. Having a different connector type or connector placed in different place makes the battery not to support the laptop. 

 

And also if the laptop battery is shaped different, then it is obvious that it cannot be placed inside the slot.

5. Chemical Composition

Chemical composition is an important parameter that has to be used when choosing a laptop battery. There are 4 main types of chemicals that are used in laptop battery composition. 

 

Those are the Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly) and Lithium Ion (Li-ion). In earlier days NiCad and NiMH are used the most. Due to their inability to hold much power and memory defect, Li-ion came into use. Currently Li-ion is the most used type of battery based on chemical composition. 

 

Even though there are some laptops which accepts batteries of different composition, majority of the laptops will be supporting only batteries with one chemical. Therefore next time when you choose a laptop battery be cautious on its chemical composition.

6. Number of Cells

The number of cells present inside the battery decides the capacity of the battery. Which means that the number of cells present has a direct affect on how long your laptop will be running under the battery power. 

 

And also more the cells present, heavier the battery becomes. The number of cells used by most of the batteries today is 6, each with 18650 type of cells.