http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/tricklecharge Questions tagged with 'tricklecharge' at Ask MetaFilter. Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:20:23 -0800 Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:20:23 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/51705/How%2Dmuch%2Dexactly%2Dwill%2Dusing%2Dmy%2Dlaptop%2Don%2DAC%2Ddestroy%2Dmy%2Dbattery How much exactly will using my laptop on AC destroy my battery? From what I've read, when the laptop is in AC with the battery inside, every now and then the battery gets below a certain threshold, and the computer tops off the battery (trickle charging). This "burns" a charge cycle, reducing battery life.<br> <br> My question is: what's that threshold? and exactly how much time is this now and then? is it like once every five minutes, once every hour or once every day? And how is the effect in battery life compared to full cycles?<br> <br> Justification: I use my laptop mostly at home, when I have AC always available. Right now I use it some 2 or 3 times a day, 2-3 hours each time. I really don't want to take the battery off, so, my decision is between plugging it on the wall whenever I'll use it, or alternating using it discharging the battery (until 10%) then charging again on AC (until 100%). I assume leaving it always plugged is not an option (I don't need it to be on when I'm not using it).<br> <br> By the way, is there a problem if I leave the charger always plugged on the wall, even when it's not plugged on the computer?<br> <br> If it matters, it's a HP Pavilion dv2000t. It was bought last month, so I think it should have all mainstream battery preservation technologies. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2006:site.51705 Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:20:23 -0800 ac battery batterylife charge laptop trickle tricklecharge qvantamon