4 tips to extend the life of your laptop battery

Don't even think about it," my laptop screen flashed back at me contemptuously (I'm paraphrasing the error message a little here). "I'm out of juice."
And then, before I could find an electrical outlet — Sea Tac has recently increased the number of available outlets, by the way; finally a reprieve for business travelers whose budget for airline club membership has been cut — the laptop expired.
The irony, of course, is that I had spent most of the previous week researching this column on how to extend your PC's battery life while you're on the road.
In a 2002 survey by chipmaker Intel, 57% of laptop users said they wished their batteries lasted longer. And that is wishful thinking, according to Isidor Buchmann, president and founder of Cadex Electronics in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He suggests that although batteries become about 10% more efficient every year, the average PC's power needs also increase by about the same amount. Result: The average battery life is still painfully short (just three to four hours for most laptop models).
But you don't have to end up sitting in a waiting area, staring at a darkened screen, like I was. Here are four tried-and-true tips to extend the life of your laptop battery. Why should you take advice from a guy who couldn't keep his own unit charged? Read on if you want to hear my sad excuse.
1.
Power down all nonessential functions. Switch it off if you're not using it. Many business travelers already know that you don't want to take the DVD player for a spin on the plane, and that every time you hit "save" it can set the hard-drive whirring, which devours even more power. "But users often also forget to turn off their wireless card when they are no longer using it but are still using their computer," notes Mike Fuller, executive vice president of PC Laptops, a Sandy, Utah, laptop manufacturer. "When the wireless card is on, it still continually searches for networks." In Windows XP, click on "Power Options" in your control panel. It allows you to reduce the power consumption of any number of your computer devices or of your entire system.
2.
Stay out of extreme temperatures. The technology that powers you battery isn't terribly complicated. But it's important to understand a little bit about the chemistry behind batteries, and how that can affect your work. Specifically, temperatures can affect the performance of your battery. It's best to use (and especially charge) your batteries at room temperatures. Extreme conditions can drain your battery quickly. Also, avoid partial charges and use the battery until it is dead. Battery experts liken partial charges — and discharges — to eating a cup of lard every day. It significantly shortens your battery's life. Considering that a lithium-ion battery can explode if it's improperly used, it could also shorten your life.