Although many of us use our laptops at work, or at home, they are also designed to be mobile devices, and won’t always be plugged into the mains. This is where a good quality laptop battery will prove to be an essential piece of kit.

Lithium Ion are the most common types of laptop battery, with products designed specifically to fit laptop models from the likes of IBM, Compaq, HP, Acer, Samsung, Dell and Panasonic. A good battery could provide up to 3 years of use or more, but will need replacing when the amount of power it provides goes down.

Replacement laptop batteries are available direct from the manufacturers or other battery suppliers. If choosing the latter, make sure the company you buy from tests and approves its batteries, and offers a warranty on your purchase. A modern laptop battery should give up to five hours charge when fully operational, and the type you need is easily identifiable. Most decent websites will have a search facility into which you can either type your laptop service tag number or make/model, and the results will bring up compatible products. You’ll also have the option to purchase AC Adaptors and Power Cords at the same time, should these need replacing.

If you look after your laptop battery though, you may not need to think of a replacement for many years to come.