A Classroom Challenge: Laptop with a Dead Battery
Is there a simple remedy?
Customers report that some classrooms see as many as six students arriving daily with dead batteries in their laptops. What happens when a laptop is necessary for a lesson or a test?
What do the other students do when their classmate steps out to find extension cords or power strips? This issue affects both secondary and post-secondary institutions.
In some settings, administrators adopt a policy to keep laptops on the premises to ensure adequate power. This limits a laptop to classroom use only.
The problem is so significant that a facilities manager at a well-funded university mentioned that their policy is to avoid the issue altogether. They do not provide extra outlets in lecture halls and instead place the responsibility on students, rather than ensuring that each seat in every classroom has access to 120V outlets.
The pandemic has already hindered learning. Do students and instructors really need to face this additional frustration?
Think Batteries
Since 2019, most student laptops sold can charge using a USB-C connection. This type of connection has also become common in many other devices and is now the European standard for charging mobile phones. To fully implement this, all that is needed is a suitable battery solution for the classroom. While this may seem straightforward, it's an important step forward.
Why do Student Laptops run out of power?
The primary reason for this issue is that many students do not arrive at school with fully charged laptops. Schools often ask parents to help ensure their children’s devices are charged, but it takes only a few students to forget to charge their laptops to disrupt the entire class.
A less obvious reason relates to the batteries themselves. Most new laptops come with batteries with a capacity of around 50 watt-hours. Given that laptops typically consume about 10 to 12 watts per hour, the batteries usually last about 4 to 5 hours before they need to be recharged.
However, this applies only to new laptops. Laptop battery systems are designed to charge to 100% and discharge to 0%. After several hundred charging cycles, the batteries begin to lose their capacity. As a result, many laptops in use may have degraded batteries with 40-watt-hours or less capacity.
Battery Power Solutions are not Created Equal
When searching online, you may come across many battery systems that claim to be supplemental power sources with USB-C connections. However, similar to products in airport gift shops, most designs prioritize neither sustainability nor durability, often lacking longevity. Some even use the term "Lithium-ion"—a common buzzword in battery marketing. Unfortunately, their capacity typically provides only a few hours of laptop usage, which is insufficient for a full day in a classroom. This limited performance helps to explain their low prices.
These batteries often advertise their capacity in milliamp hours (mAh), which is technically accurate but doesn't provide much useful information unless you are willing to do some calculations.
Lithium-ion batteries have a longer lifespan if charged slowly (ideally "overnight") up to 90% of their capacity and discharged down to 10%. However, many lower-priced options do not include this feature, leading to a battery life as short as 18 to 24 months.
Remember, a low price does not necessarily equate to overall low costs.
August Berres has a Better Answer
Our portable battery systems provide 200 Watt-hours of power through two USB-C connections. While laptop power consumption varies, let's assume an average of 12 Watts per hour, which is considered typical. With this consumption rate, one of our battery systems can last for more than 16 hours. This means that two students can power their laptops for an entire school day using just one battery. This approach reduces the number of battery and charging systems needed in a classroom by half.
Batteries are more advantageous than power outlets in a classroom setting. Most students come to class with adequately charged laptops, so there is no need for 120V outlets at every seat. Supplemental power is provided only where it is necessary.
Are our batteries safe? Yes, our control systems are designed to detect both over-current and over-temperature conditions. If either of these situations occurs, our batteries will shut down and will not restart until the issue is resolved. We believe this is a crucial feature for a classroom environment.
Are they durable? Unlike lower-cost alternatives, our carry cases are made from polycarbonate, which can withstand the rigors of everyday use. However, we cannot promise durability against misuse, as that is more a matter of discipline than product design. Lithium-ion batteries should always be treated with respect.
How long do they last? We manage the charging rate to maximize product life. Our batteries charge up to 90% and discharge down to 10%. A full charge can be completed overnight. With this charging regimen, the batteries will retain at least 80% of their capacity after 2,500 cycles. If each battery is cycled once per day for 250 days, we estimate a lifespan of approximately 10 years.
How are they charged? August Berres offers the most comprehensive solutions for battery charging in the industry, allowing you to charge 3, 12, or 24 batteries simultaneously from a single 120V outlet.
“Let’s not let technology get in the way of learning. Let’s use it to enhance learning.”
