There are very few things more frustrating for drone enthusiasts than to have to cut short their enjoyment and abort a flight because the battery is giving out a low power warning. Battery lifespan can be an issue even if you own a better quality drone within a certain price sector, but there are some tricks and tips you can follow to help increase your drone battery life.
Here is a look at some ways to extend the battery life of your drone, including how to practice more power-efficient flying and tips on taking the best care of your battery to help keep it going for longer.
Drone battery life: Decide what is important to you
A good starting point when you are looking at ways to improve battery performance is to decide what sort of features are important to you when you are choosing a drone.
For example, if you are specifically interested in taking aerial shots you will want to check out a site like Dronethusiast.com to review a list of which models are considered the best drones with cameras.
If you do want a drone with a good quality camera on board you should remember that the camera will add weight and put more pressure on the battery life, which is why it would be a good idea to pick a model that compensates for this in increased battery performance and capacity.
Battery Buying Tip - Look for a battery that offers a higher mAH to increase the potential flight time.
Good flying conditions
Flying your drone in good weather conditions can make a big difference to battery performance.
Windy and rainy conditions invariably make it harder for your drone to make turns, hover, and achieve a good level of stability.
Difficult weather conditions are going to put added pressure on your battery performance and if the wind is blowing hard it is likely to shorten your flying time capacity.
Battery charging tips
There is an optimum time for charging your battery and you might also be reducing the life of your battery if you don’t follow the right rules on when and how to do the recharging.
If your drone has a lithium-ion battery it has different charging requirements to stay at its peak for longer than a standard rechargeable version.
Your old habit of draining a battery completely before recharging it is not a good ploy with a lithium-ion version and emptying it completely weakens it and reduces lifespan. It is better to keep a lithium-ion battery at a constant capacity of between 40% to 80%, so don’t drain it and don’t overcharge it either.
It is also worth remembering that a typical rechargeable battery loses a percentage of its charge each day, so it would be better to try and charge it a few hours before your intended use rather than doing it too early and losing a bit of juice and flying time as a result.
If you think about things like flying conditions and do what you can to take the right care of your battery it should reward you with the best possible performance and more time in the air for your drone.
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