Laptop Battery Capacity – Check, Test, and Increasing

There are so many things that define a laptop battery. One of them is capacity. When buying a replacement battery, understanding such terms will help you make a more informed decision.

Battery capacity is one of the most important factors. It determines how powerful the battery is and how long it will last.

In this guide, we will be expanding more on battery capacity. We want to help you buy a battery that meets your needs.

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Laptop Battery Capacity Check

A laptop battery capacity check is the process of checking how much power your battery can supply under certain load for a certain period. When you buy a new battery, you will realize that it holds power for several hours. For example, the battery could have the capability to hold power for two hours. That is its capacity.

Understanding Battery Capacity

Before we do a capacity check, let us first understand what capacity means. This will help us create a better foundation to check what your battery holds.

Battery capacity stands for the amount of charge a battery cell can hold. It is measured in ampere-hours (Ah), where 1Ah = 1000 mAh. Capacity is the specification of the battery's capability to supply current into an electric circuit for a specific duration.

In simple terms, it is how much energy a battery can hold to power your laptop for a specified time. If you know the capacity and voltage of a battery, you can easily calculate its energy. With this, you will know how much power your device requires.

The operating voltage of a lithium-ion battery remains constant throughout its lifespan. The capacity, however, begins to deteriorate slowly in the volume of the active material. This shortens the life of the battery.

The FCC Value

A battery comes with an actual battery capacity called Full Charge Capacity (FCC). This value departs from the battery's design capacity (DC) (the battery's initial capacity).

The discharge rate determines the FCC value and how much the device is used. Hence, the bigger the discharge rate, the bigger its effects on the FCC.

Some lithium batteries come with Green Cells. Such batteries carry a lifespan of up to 600 cycles. If you charge your battery fully and use it moderately, the FCC of these batteries should be around 80% after a year – relative to the DC. But this is only if you are using moderate demanding applications like a word processor, internet browser, and other simple programs.

This is obviously one of the best ways to extend battery life. You can use them in connection with other methods and get more from your battery.

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How to Check Laptop Battery Capacity

It's important to always check the health of your battery. Capacity is often the largest factor that determines a battery's health.

This case will be using a Windows 10 laptop as an example. Windows laptops come with a very useful and yet hidden tool that you can use to check the battery. This tool is called the Battery Report tool.

You will find this tool just under the surface of Windows 10. It's simple to use the program once you know where to find it.

Here is how:

Launch the start menu and then the Command Prompt. Simply type Command Prompt in the search box. If this does not work, scroll down the Start Menu's application list to find it. It is under Windows Systems Section.

After launching the Command Prompt, you should see a black window with white text. One of the lines starts with a C: and ends with your user name. Type powercfg /battery report here. Make sure there is space between the words. If everything goes smoothly, you will see a text informing you that the report has been saved in a certain folder.

Now it's time to find that report. Open File Explorer (you can type it in the search menu box) and navigate until you find the folder.

Open the report and check all the details you want. The report comes as an HTML file and will automatically open. It looks like a long list of information. It will have everything, including battery life estimates and usage reports.

You can skip all the other sections and head right to the Battery capacity history section. This information carries full charge capacity measured against the design capacity.

Laptop Battery Capacity Test

The Battery life estimates section in the report above should give you a full picture of your battery's health. But if you don't get this report, you can test it yourself and then use the Battery Report to understand the results.

Follow this guide.

Generate a battery report and read the "Battery usage" report. This chart shows how you used the battery in the last few days. You can use the report to estimate the exact time your battery will last when fully charged. But you must charge it up first.

Shut off any automated power-conversation features on your battery.

Now you need a plan to use the battery continuously until it runs out of juice.

Charge it again to full power and disconnect from the charger to start your test. Let it run until it dies off automatically. Connect to the power and recharge. Then generate another battery health report as explained above. The new entry will be under the usage section. The information will explain how long the battery lasted under the load you gave it when fully charged.

You have successfully tested the full capacity of your battery. You can perform the test once every few months to keep an eye on your battery's health.

Laptop Battery Capacity Increasing

The design capacity of most lithium-ion batteries is 4400mAh. But there are ways of increasing this capacity to give your battery more durability.

Consider the following two ways:

Use oversized batteries. These batteries come with extra cells in the form of a stand or an extension. Such batteries offer better performance, depending on the number of cells. They can give you up to 200% capacity.

Using non-standard battery cells. Find more efficient cells and replace them with the standard ones. Modified batteries offer incredible capacity. However, expect them to be more expensive.

When you depend on a laptop, you want to ensure it has a good battery. We hope this article helps you improve the performance of your device.