Modern batteries have a fairly long lifespan, but no battery can last forever. Eventually, they always need to be recharged or replaced. Ensuring that they last for as long as possible is good for both the environment and for your finances, since it prevents you from needing to replace them with new batteries. There are several different things that you can do to extend the lifespan of a battery, and most of them are fairly quick and easy for the average person to do. That means that it is always worth the effort to stretch out their useful life for just a little bit longer.
1- Keep Them Cool
Batteries are made up of electrochemical cells, which use chemical reactions to create an electrical charge. The system will eventually hit an equilibrium point at which the reactions cannot occur, which is the point when the battery finally dies. Anything that increases the rate of that reaction will cause them to wear out more quickly, while things that slow it down will cause them to last a little bit longer. This is especially true when the batteries are not in use, since the reaction can occur even when they are not running a device.
Every chemist knows that reactions go more quickly when they are hot. That means that keeping your batteries cool can help them to last longer. At a practical level, you can help to deal with heat by making a point of keeping batteries and the devices that use them out of your pockets. Clothing naturally stores heat, and close proximity to your body will make the batteries warm up even faster because humans release their body heat over time. Keeping them away from sunny windows and other areas that will naturally heat up during the day can also be useful. A little bit of exposure in the short term won’t cause a problem, so it is best to use this techniques for batteries in your phone or other devices that see a lot of use over a particularly long period of time. Be careful not to freeze them, since that can cause other problems that damage the batteries!
2- Store Batteries Separately
You should take batteries out of your devices before you store them for long periods of time. Many devices can draw power over time even when they are turned off, so this will help to conserve electricity. It also has a few pleasant side effects. It allows you to easily swap batteries between devices, so you will not need to buy as many to keep everything powered when it is in use. It also reduces the odds of the batteries leaking inside an expensive device, which can cause damage to it.
People who use rechargeable batteries can take these swaps as a chance to recharge their batteries, even if they are not completely out of juice. That ensures that they are always as charged as possible when they go into a new device. People who do this rarely need to deal with the unpleasant surprise of packing batteries that turn out to need a new charge, which can make life much more convenient.
3- Turn Devices Off
The easiest battery hack is to simply turn off all of your devices when they are not in use. They will draw more power when they are turned on than when they are turned off, so this will let you go longer between recharges even if it doesn’t add any hours of use to their lifespan.
It is surprisingly easy to forget to turn the devices off, especially if you are in the habit of leaving them on at all times. Many devices will come with the option to turn themselves off when they have been idle for more than a few minutes. You should make use of that option when it is available to make sure that you do not waste any power. You can also work it into a nightly routine and turn everything off when you get ready for bed. Eventually, this will turn into a habit that does not take any extra effort, so it is one of the most convenient tools for extending battery life.
