How to use a laptop for 24 hrs without input power

If you live in Nigeria, you'd probably agree that 24 hrs electricity from the power company is still far from being achieved.

There are a lot of laptop users in Nigeria but one of the major obstacles to its usage is inefficient power supply. At time you get frustrated when using your laptop and browsing the internet looking for information or makie e-commerce transactions and your laptop's battery just goes down. You can't recharge it due to the fact that there is now light from the PHCN/NEPA.

What are your other options to running a laptop for 24 hrs even when there is no power supply from NEPA? Well, there are several options to solve this problem and I'll just list some of them here:

- Use multiple laptop batteries
- Use a Power inverter
- Use a solar charger
- Use a power generator

1. Use multiple laptop batteries
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I initially had 2 laptops and when their batteries started having problems, I had to buy new laptop batteries. What I've noticed is that new laptop batteries that I use tend to use last at least 1 hr without NEPA and so having 4 laptop batteries allowed me to use my laptop for up to 4 hrs without any external input power. So, I think it varies from laptop for laptop and from battery to battery. Some batteries are sub-standard while some are of good standard. A sub-standard battery would not last as long as a standard one when there is no electricity supply. So if your laptop battery lasts you for 1 hr without input power, then having up to 24 laptop batteries can actually allow you use your laptop for up to 24 hrs. I bought a Toshiba laptop battery for around N7000 last time I checked.

The only thing you'd need to do to make those batteries work well for you is to pre-charge and store them so as to be able to use them for 24 hrs even when there is no light from NEPA.

In the future, there are plans to make laptop batteries last for as long as 24 hrs after a single charge but before we get there, you might just have to make use of multiple standard laptop batteries.

2. Use a Power Inverter
A Power inverter is a power supply system that allows you to convert dc power being supplied into a/c which is the required input power you need for your home. You can make use of a power inverter and connect it to your laptop and there are of varying power levels. A Power inverter can supply constant a/c power for a much longer time but they can be expensive to setup as well as maintain. It makes use of dc deep cell sealed batteries which supply power to an inverter and then to your system. The more batteries you use and the higher the power range of the inverter, the longer it would be able to supply light to your computer. They are the most efficient source of alternate power especially when the power company is inefficient. Some inverters can last up to 24 hrs before requiring a recharge from the mains. As long as the batteries are charged, they would be able to sustain your laptop needs even more than 24 hrs.

3. Use a Solar charger
Nowadays, we no longer just have solar cells and solar panels, we also have solar chargers and even solar laptops.

Solar chargers are simply electric chargers carrying solar panels on them that immediately convert energy from the sun into electric energy for immediate charging of your laptop. It is mostly a useful device in regions like Nigeria where there is inefficient power supply but not many people are aware of it.

All it needs to do is to be place in the direction of light and then connected to a laptop that is to be charged. You could even be using the laptop while it is being charged.

To be able to use a laptop for up to 24 hrs relying on the power of the sun, one may also need to combine this method with multiple laptop batteries so that when the sun goes down, you'd also be able to use it on battery time.

There are also solar laptops already in the market and these are laptops that have solar panels already embedded on them and they are available in markets across Africa.

4. Use a Power generator

Power generators are simply the most popular means of electric power when there is a failure in public power supply. They are electric machines that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy by making use of electromagnetic induction.

When a conductor is turned round a magnetic field, electric currents are generated and these are what power generators are based on. They do however need a steady supply of fuel which can be either from ethanol or petrol in order to keep the engines working.

Generators are efficient at generating electricity for homes and you can use it to power your laptop even up to 24 hrs. You only need to consider how much fuel your need to power your laptop for up to 24 hrs and be ready to provide for it.