Charging a laptop with a power bank - how does it work?

Being able to charge the laptop battery with a power bank gives you significantly more independence on the go. Especially if you work a lot with the notebook and access to the next power source is not always guaranteed, a power bank can be a useful purchase. This article tells you what you should consider.

Charge the notebook battery with a power bank

Regardless of whether in the great outdoors, on the train or in the lecture hall: If the notebook's battery suddenly gives up in the middle of work, that's more than annoying. In this case, a power bank can be the salvation.

• The power banks have become relatively light and small, and are therefore easy to transport. With a laptop power bank, however, you have to expect a weight of around 500 grams to 1.5 kilograms and a length of about 20 centimeters due to the significantly higher capacity.
• A high-performance power bank has a capacity of over 50, 000 milliamp hours. The output is therefore around 190 watts. The capacity varies, of course, depending on the model and you have to expect a good 150 euros for the costs.
• Product suggestions: The power bank from XTPower offers up to 50, 000 mAh charging capacity, with which you can charge an ordinary netbook about five times. The Energizer XP weighs just 516 grams and still delivers an acceptable 18, 000 mAh. The power bank from Beltrona offers a very good price-performance ratio: For 100 euros you get a 600 g charging station with 21, 600 mAh.
• You can look up the power your laptop requires in the manual or use the values ​​on the power supply as a guide. If you only find the information for voltage and current on your power supply, multiply the two values.
• Important: So that you can connect the power bank and notebook to each other, the external battery must have a DC output that is compatible with your notebook. Many power banks have various adapters included, so that common laptops are covered. In addition, the output voltage of the power bank must be suitable for your laptop. Many netbooks are supplied with 19V, but some also with 20V or 15V - you can also check this in the manual or on the power supply.
• A good external battery also has overcharge and discharge protection and short-circuit protection. You shouldn't miss a charge indicator on your new power bank either.
• The actual charging process is ultimately very simple: You simply connect the laptop to the power bank with the appropriate adapter after you have set the voltage on the battery, if necessary. Your laptop is then charged - usually about as fast as at a normal socket, sometimes a little slower.

Other tips: solar charger for laptop and more

• Note only a few small things, if you charge your notebook battery, you can significantly improve the runtime.
• You will be even more independent if you charge your power bank with a solar charger. In most cases, it is even necessary to connect a power bank between the solar charger and the laptop, as this converts the voltage into the one suitable for the laptop.
• If you want to be as independent of sockets as possible with your smartphone and tablet, there are also good solar chargers for this. Since the smaller devices use significantly less energy than a laptop, smaller power banks are also sufficient for cell phones and the like.