I don't want my laptop's battery to always be at 100% because it lessens battery life, especially when above 25 Celcius, the lowest summer temperature in Israel (currently 30C – 32C). I prefer to keep the battery level between 30% and 50% and use it instead of a backup UPS battery. Is there any software that can do that?
If there is no software, can I wait until the battery reaches 100% charge, pull out the power cord and work in battery mode until it reaches 10% so Windows 7 will let me know or will automatically hibernate? Moreover, the battery can protect against brownouts and power outages.
Will having the battery with the power cord plugged in degrade battery life faster than unplugged? Would I be better using UPS? Will UPS be cheaper over the long-term compared to a laptop battery?
I have Lenovo G560.
Best Answer
It is true that keeping it plugged in all the time will usually shorten battery life unless you take measures to control the charging cycle. Manually unplugging it & draining the battery down periodically (e.g., every couple of weeks) can help to extend the life.
EDIT 2017-03-06. In the years since the above was written, some things have changed in battery technology. It is no longer recommended to put your battery through a full drain-charge cycle every couple weeks. A "calibration cycle" is recommended for some batteries every three months. See more info here. --- END EDIT
On my Lenovo ThinkPad I use the ThinkVantage Power Manager to control the charging process. Other manufacturers may provide a similar utility. (If there is a way to do it natively in Win7, I'd like to hear about it.)
In ThinkVantage Power Manager, switch to Advanced mode. Click the Battery Tab. Press the Battery Maintenance button.
It's pretty self-explanatory - you can adjust the options there to get what you want.