Drones are popular these days. You can easily get one without spending much of money. Most people own drones for various reasons, perhaps for fun or commercial photography. In either case, drones are important tools that have revolutionized the world of photography to a whole new level. Now, without a proper push, a drone cannot fly in the air. The drone battery life determines how long you can fly.
Ensuring that your drone battery has longer life requires some savvy. It all starts by selecting the right battery and learning how to extend its life so that your drone can maintain in the air for long. Before diving into the tips of extending battery life, let’s look at the reasons why you need a long lasting battery.
Why your drone needs a long-lasting battery
Most people tend to overlook batteries when purchasing their drones. However, it’s a vital tool that contributes to the great performance of a drone. So, why need a powerful battery?
Flight time
A powerful battery keeps your drone longer in the air. Extended flight time depends on the status of your battery. So, it’s your homework to ensure you have a long-lasting battery to avoid frustrations during your photography.
Power Drone Battery Life
A drone depends on batteries to fly. A powerful battery ensures that the drone flies well; faster and higher. The more your drone flies, the more needs powerful batteries. So, if you are into commercial photography, where it requires higher and better shot, you need to have good batteries.
Drone lifespan
Drone batteries contribute to its durability. Just like any other electronic device, a drone lifespan is affected by the performance of its batteries. Thus, if you have reliable batteries, the drone will be able to live longer in the service.
What affects your drone battery life?
Now, how your batteries will last depends on various factors. They include:
Energy density
How much power your battery can store. Different batteries have different capacities called mAH. So, the higher the capacity, the higher the life span.
Weather conditions
Flying drones in adverse climates such as windy or rainy situations may affect your batteries. In these conditions, your drone requires more effort and energy to fly. Therefore, this might affect your batteries. The best time to fly a drone is when the weather is calm and sunny.
Size
The size of a battery matters a lot. It might be true that big batteries may increase the drone weight, but they are more powerful and have a large surface area to transmit current. Additionally, their discharge rate is slightly lower.
Drone Battery Life Storage
How you store your batteries determine their life span. You should store your battery when it is at 40% level. Batteries usually burn out faster when they are stored 100% full. Also, store them in a cool and a fireproof place.
Having looked at the importance of long-lasting batteries, and what affects their life span, how do you prolong their lifespan?
Tips to extend your drone battery life
There are various few tips you can use to prolong your battery life. It doesn’t matter which battery you are using, but if you don’t take care of it, it will damage within a short time. So, here are some precautionary measures that can help you extend your drone’s battery life.
Choose your drone’s batteries carefully
When purchasing your drone, ensure you check the battery quality. Don’t go for cheap batteries that won’t last long. Pick an original battery that has high mAH. If you cannot determine a good quality when doing your shopping, ask for assistance from your seller to ensure you pick the best.
Remove the cameras when not in use
Most drones usually have removable cameras. If you are not using the drone, remove them. Drones camera links with batteries when recording. Even when not recording at the moment, it still uses battery power. So, if you are not taking any shots or videos, ensure you remove them to save power. Hence, you will not charge the batteries many times, saving your battery life.
Avoid fast charging
Charging your drone battery fast usually stress it up. Unless you need to use the drone immediately, avoid fast charging. The slower you charge the battery, the more you maintain it. Let it charge to the full capacity slowly. Don’t hurry the charging. If you don’t mind, charge the batteries overnight to charge properly. You will be surprised how your batteries will last longer.
Battery capacity
Every time you go to buy a battery, look for a battery that has a higher capacity or mAH. Firstly, you have to ensure that the battery is compatible with your drone. Then check if its capacity suits your drone. So, when looking for good batteries, stress on finding batteries that have a higher capacity. They are expensive, but they will give you great performance.
Don’t drain your battery
Draining your battery is bad news. Ensure that the batteries of your drone do not drain excessively. Most people drain their batteries in fear that they may adjust to less usage range. A battery is fine when it’s above 20%. Your battery may damage if the charge falls to 0%. So, always check the battery to ensure it’s safe all the times. Also, after buying a new drone battery, ensure you charge it for at least 6 hours so that it doesn’t drain faster when it’s new.
Know when to charge
Knowing when to charge your drone battery is vital in extending its life. Most people tend to charge batteries without a plan or when they see a charging point. Well, this is wrong. You may harm your battery. It’s always important to charge your batteries only when they consume a specific amount of power.
You need to charge the batteries only once or twice before using it. So, let the charging be about timing, don’t let it drain. Once it’s about 20%, charge it. It is also recommendable to charge the batteries a few minutes before flying the drone. Rechargeable drone batteries tend to lose power even when they are idle.
Know when to fly your drone
It’s always important to fly your drones when the weather is conducive and fine. A good time to fly a drone is during fair and sunny weather conditions. Now, the reason why it’s not appropriate to fly your drone when it is raining or windy is that the drone needs more effort to propel. Hence, this puts more pressure on the battery.
Upgrade your drone components
Upgrading the drone’s components can help to save your batteries. Old components, such as old motors tend to consume more power. So, upgrading to newer and better motors will relieve battery pressure, helping it to last longer.
Remove prop guards
Drones have wrapping metals called prop guards that protect propellers. They are beneficial, but they increase the weight of a drone. Therefore, the drone will require more power to propel. If you want to extend your battery life, removing them will be a good idea. However, removing prop guards may damage your propellers. So, be careful where you are flying your drone to protect the propellers.
Don’t overcharge your battery
Always avoid overcharging your drone batteries. Overcharging the batteries is bad news, it does not only damage your battery, but it’s also risky to you. The first stage will be swelling, and the battery will be appearing puffy. Later if you are not keen enough, it might even explode. So, always check your battery when charging. When it’s about 80%, remove it from the charger.
Fly your drone at the right altitude
To conserve and protect your batteries, always ensure you fly your drone at the right attitude that is recommended by the manufacturer. Flying drones at a very high altitudes discharge your batteries faster and end up affecting the flight time. Additionally, the higher you go, the more effort your drone will need to fly and stay in the air. So, this may end up affecting the life span of your battery.
Follow 40-60 rule
You may damage your batteries when you drain them and when you overcharge them. So, the best option is to follow the 40-60 rule. Recharge it when it’s about 40% and stop charging when it’s about 80%. This will help to preserve your battery. Note that most lithium batteries have a charging lifespan of 300 cycles. So, you have to be careful when charging your battery to ensure you don’t overdo it.
Drone Battery Life Conclusion
All in all, the drone battery significantly influence the performance of a drone. It’s very frustrating when the battery charge ends in the middle of exciting photography. To avoid such disappointments, always learn to take care of your batteries. It all starts when you go to buy your new drone. It’s recommendable you buy a drone that has detachable batteries.
Check their energy density, discharge volume, and voltage. Once you purchase a good battery, proceed to handle it will care. Use the above tips to extend your drone battery life. Remember that regardless of the type of battery you use, if you are not cautious enough, you will end up destroying it. So, be vigilant and use the above tips and you will be good to go.
