programatically start/stop charging

ol muser
ol muser used Ask the Experts™
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In Windows 8 is there a way to programatically control charging the laptop battery?

I.e, I have my laptop always connected to the power source. I have heard that keeping the battery charged between 40-60% of its capacity increases battery life. Also, I heard fully charging a battery and keeping it always connected to a power source might bring its life down.

I currently manually unplug the power cord to mnage this. is there a way I could write a small app to programatically control this in Win 8? or is this purely a hardware thingy? i know Toyota does it to its hybrid batteries. ie. it keeps the hybrid battery charged between 40-60%.

thanks
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nobus
Top Expert 2013
Commented:
not all you hear is true, and many of the things you said applied for ni-CD batteries, that are no mor e used
however, what i always suggest to customers, is run their battery thru a full uncharge /charge cycle, at least once a month
that way, you know how long the battery sustains the laptop still (= capacity figure), and if it needs to be replaced in the near future (start saving)
davidlevans13
Commented:
You could just take the battery out when running off power. Let it charge fully and remove it. When you might need it, like when you are going out, then put battery back in and let it charge again.
Don't need the battery in to run from the wall plug.
ol muserTechnology Generalist

Author

Commented:
I think the implied answer I am getting is there is no way to programatically control charging behaviour. Now I am not sure if I should grant points to these answers, can a admin advise? thanks!
Top Expert 2013
Commented:
in order to have the option to charge or discharge , started by a program, there should be some controllable circuitry in the charging line; and afaik - no such thing exists
so no, it is not possible

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