How to maximizing battery life??

At home when I leave the laptop plugged in, I take the battery out.

I'm not exactly sure how Windows based laptops work compared to Apple laptops because I have a MacBook Pro approximately 5 years old now and the battery is still going strong. I can't say the same for many of the Windows based laptops I've had, many of the batteries start to degrade rapidly after a year of use.

Some suggestions from Microsoft:

Extend battery life: Conserve battery power on laptops, notebooks, and netbooks

And some more info:

How to Maximize the Battery Life of Your Windows Laptop

dreamer said:

Thanks for the replies guys.Few queries though:

1. Does overcharging as in constantly keeping your laptop plugged in (even if battery status is 100 % charged) reduce your battery life??My laptop is ON almost whole day till i go to sleep and before i had a bad habit of constantly keeping my laptop plugged in.

2. How much overheating or lets say gameplay affect battery life??In my case i sometimes play Flight simulator X and it heats up my laptop a bit.Is it wise to take out the battery when i am playing game??

3. There is contradictory thoughts about battery charging procedure.Some people suggest to start charging once battery level is critical and some suggest to start charging even X % of battery charge is still left.Any suggestions regarding the same??

1. More info from Dell:

Dell Official Site: Laptop Battery FAQ | Dell

2. Excessive heat is never a good idea. You might consider a free tool like Speccy, SpeedFan, SIW, etc so you can monitor your temps. It shouldn't hurt to remove the battery and run off of AC current alone.

3. Depends on what kind of battery your computer has (nickel cadmium, lithium ion, etc.) Most computers today use litium ion. I have a Sony Vaio and Sony says it's OK to leave the battery installed with the charger plugged in because the battery and charger have special circuitry to monitor the battery health. The charger will stop charging when the battery reaches a pre-determined "level" and resume charging when it drops below that level. Your owner's manual should give you more info about your particular battery. But here's some geeky reading material about lithium ions.

Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

dreamer
What follows is an anecdotal survey of one....

Have had 7 new laptops here over the last so many years whilst living & commuting between the tropics & a more temperate climate.
{Tropical climates are extremely harsh on electroncs.}

Batteries in each are left in situ the whole time.
Every so often the batteries are discharged & recharged . Not set times or rules apply.

No battery thus far has been replaced.

JMH said:

dreamer
What follows is an anecdotal survey of one....

Have had 7 new laptops here over the last so many years whilst living & commuting between the tropics & a more temperate climate.
{Tropical climates are extremely harsh on electroncs.}

Batteries in each are left in situ the whole time.
Every so often the batteries are discharged & recharged . Not set times or rules apply.

No battery thus far has been replaced.

My experience so has being mixed.Even in hot summers here,laptop didn't get overheated and battery performance was good and remember i kept my laptop plugged in the whole time.

Now i think back a little,ever since i started gaming a bit the battery discharge time (when not playing games) kept on decreasing till i had to replace the battery.

Other experiences/comments are most welcome.