Green Hands USA: America Volunteers

I take my laptop everywhere I go. I also take my power cord. Because even if I can run my laptop off its internal battery, I try not to.

Why? Running my laptop off the battery or off of a wall outlet uses the same electricity, right? I mean, after all, you recharge your laptop battery through the wall, so why is it any different?

The simple truth (one we often forget) is that even the best rechargeable batteries can only be recharged a certain number of times. It varies, but most batteries can only be recharged a few hundred times. After that, they stop holding their charge and need to be replaced, which means the old batteries must be recycled.

But if your battery is fully charged, and you plug your laptop into a wall socket, your computer cuts the battery out of the process and takes all of its juice from the power cord. By relying on your power cord more, you're recharging your battery less, and extending your battery life in the process.

This is not only "green," it saves you some gree, since you won't have to replace your battery. It also reduces the likelihood your battery will go bad and stop holding a charge at the least convenient time possible.

So keep that power cord handy. Your laptop will love you for it.