Should I use UPS with my laptop to extend the battery life?

I recently bought a new Vaio laptop which has a 4400 mAh battery. I will use it at home most of the time, and I have an unused uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Should I remove the battery and connect my laptop to UPS? If I do that, how much does it effect the battery's life? I know that batteries stand longer when kept in half-charged in a cool place, but their lifespan decreases in time due to age effect as well.

So is it worth to keep the battery out of my laptop, use a UPS instead and mount it when necessary? or should I continue to work with battery mounted?

Mehper C. Palavuzlar

Posted 2010-04-16T14:30:26.363

Reputation: 51 093

Answers

No. External power alone is not enough for all cases. Many laptops only work at full capacity if they have a battery and external power. This is because the external power supply can only provide 70-90W but the machine may need 100+W when CPU spikes high and the HD/DVD is spinning. Having the battery on board allows the machine to sip from the battery when needed and charge it back up when not.

Chris Nava

Posted 2010-04-16T14:30:26.363

Reputation: 7 009

Battery longevity is always a debate. Personally, I wouldn't bother using a UPS and storing the battery away. What's the point? A battery in a laptop basically is a UPS, in a way.

th3dude

Posted 2010-04-16T14:30:26.363

Reputation: 9 189

1Sure, but the small LI-ion or NiMH battery is much easier to damage over time than the SLA batteries in the UPS. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams – 2010-04-16T14:41:19.417

2The point is to extend its life by exposing it to less charging & decharging cycles, and making it not heated. I don't know how much a Vaio battery costs, but I'm sure a UPS is cheaper. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar – 2010-04-16T14:42:44.547

2I disagree. I'd say it would be the same cost (if not cheaper) to replace a battery than a decent UPS. – th3dude – 2010-04-16T14:50:47.313

2the point is moot; he already has the UPS. Better to use the UPS than waste battery life. – RJFalconer – 2010-04-17T13:00:47.350

2I’d leave both, since a power spike/thunderstorm can fry both your laptop’s power supply, the battery and your board. (it happened to me and many of my customers). Make sure you have a decent UPS. Cheap ones rarely really work when they have to. – Martin Marconcini – 2010-06-15T10:23:53.627

Since you are using a VAIO laptop, and some of them (mine is Z series) have a problem with battery leaks, you should have Sony's Battery Care set to 50%, and have it plugged to the power supply all times (power outlet or your UPS).

My laptop is a year and a half old right now, and it still keeps 97% of the original capacity.

wtaniguchi

Posted 2010-04-16T14:30:26.363

Reputation: 485

you should use the UPS as possible, and with the battery Still in the laptop. Now, the laptops have it own cycle to Control charging and discharging, and avoid over charging and discharging. The battery will be recharged when 90% or 95%, when you use the UPS, the battery natural discharging is very little. You won't need to worry about the battery will be charged and discharged frequently. With the battery in is good for your laptop when there are unexpected power outages, and there will no hurt to your battery. Contrary, it's bad for batteries to storing them for long long time without using, has no help to preserve the life of the battery. Batteries need exercise too. Though the battery is expensive, but compare to the laptop, the battery is much cheaper. There are some information may helps you

Laptop battery

laptop-batteries.htm

may you think this is an ad.........I have worked about batteries for a long time, and i mean to help someone. i had saw many questions of this type, and the answers are so lopsided. May mislead the users.

doudou

Posted 2010-04-16T14:30:26.363

Reputation: 76