Charging Laptop in Car: 5 Easy Ways and Steps
Let’s look at five of the simplest ways of charging a laptop in a car. This way, you will have multiple options based on equipment availability.
- You can power your laptop with a car inverter and a laptop charger.
- A Type-C laptop charging USB cord can also help to recharge your laptop.
- A power bank is also effective in charging your laptop in a car.
- You can even use a car adapter for a laptop if you want to charge it.
- A car laptop charger is also an easy way to charge your laptop in a car.
Let’s discuss in detail all the methods for charging a laptop in a car.
Method 1: Charge a Laptop Using an Inverter
Usually, you use an Alternating Current (AC) source to charge your laptop. However, the battery in a car provides direct current (DC) energy. You can’t use DC directly for a device that needs AC power.
Hence, you can power up your laptop using a car inverter and your laptop’s standard charger. Insert the AC charger into the car inverter and charge the device.
Below are the instructions you can follow to charge a laptop in your car.
Step 1: Buy a vehicle inverter charger to convert the DC power of your car into AC power.
Step 2: Connect the inverter’s power cable to the mobile charging slot available in your car.
Step 3: Plug in the laptop charging cable to the inverter charger.
Step 4: Plug the other end of the laptop charger into the laptop’s charging slot.
It should begin the charging process. If not, please ensure you have connected all the cables properly and try again.
Method 2: Charge a Laptop Using a USB Charger
A USB charger is another simple way to charge a laptop in your car. A laptop charger with a Type-C USB port will ensure an accurate voltage supply from the vehicle’s battery to the laptop’s battery. However, this method is suitable only if your laptop has a Type-C USB port.
Below are the steps to charge a laptop using a USB charger.
Step 1: Ensure you carry a Type-C USB laptop car charger and a Type-C cable while travelling.
Step 2: Connect the Type-C USB car laptop charger to the charging port in your vehicle.
Step 3: Once you have connected the charger to the vehicle port, connect the other end of the cable to the laptop using the Type-C USB port.
That’s it. It should begin charging the laptop. If not, you can check all the connections once again.
Method 3: Charge a Laptop Using a Power Bank
Just as you use a power bank as a backup charger for your smartphone, you can also use it to charge a laptop. However, you will need a power bank of higher capacity for a laptop than what you use for a smartphone. The capacity of a power bank is measured in mAh (milliampere-hour) and W (Watts).
A laptop battery requires a minimum of 40W to charge. Hence, you must buy a laptop power bank accordingly.
Here are the steps you need to follow to charge a laptop with a power bank:
Step 1: Purchase a power bank having at least 40W capacity.
Step 2: Ensure your power bank is completely charged before going out on a car journey.
Step 3: Plug in the USB cable to the port on your laptop when you want to charge it.
Step 4: Connect the other end of the USB cable to the power bank’s port.
Step 5: If done correctly, this should begin the charging process immediately. If not, then check the cable connections one more time.
Method 4: Charge a Laptop Using an Adaptor
An adaptor also works as a converter of current, like an inverter charger. However, an adaptor removes the requirement for an additional cable than your laptop’s regular charger.
The following steps will help you use an adaptor for laptop charging in a car.
Step 1: Buy a laptop charging point adaptor for your car.
Step 2: Attach the adaptor to the power source in your car.
Step 3: You can simply plug your laptop charger into the adaptor’s port and the laptop’s charging port.
It is one of the easiest ways of charging a laptop in a car. All you need is an adaptor, which you can carry whenever you travel with your laptop.
Method 5: Charge a Laptop Using a Car Laptop Charger
You can use a car laptop charger to directly plug it in and charge your laptop whenever you're in a vehicle. A vehicle laptop charger looks similar to a regular laptop charger except for the power jack. It lets you connect your laptop to your car's cigarette lighter socket power outlet.
A vehicle laptop charger is usually not too expensive and is easily available at electronics stores, both offline and online.
Below are the steps to follow when charging your laptop via a car laptop charger.
Step 1: Purchase a car laptop charger that perfectly fits your laptop’s power port. Otherwise, you will end up damaging your device.
Step 2: When you want to charge your laptop, connect the charger to your laptop from one end and to the power port available in your car from the other end.
Step 3: Let the laptop charge for as long as you want, then remove the charger from both ends.
Is it Safe to Charge a Laptop in Your Car?
Charging a laptop in a car is safe if you use the right connectors and inverters. The risk lies in not checking the quality or compatibility of the charging cables, inverters, power banks, etc., for the charging purpose. The wrong devices can damage your laptop or your car’s power ports. Hence, you must be careful while purchasing a car laptop charger, an inverter charger, USB cables, etc.
Does the Car Battery Get Depleted by Charging a Laptop?
Yes, it is possible. Your car battery will drain if you charge a laptop while the car is stationary. However, charging a laptop when the car is in motion doesn’t drain the battery. The depletion of the car battery will be significant if you leave a laptop plugged in to charge overnight in a stationed car.
Whenever the engine isn’t running, all electrical systems in a car receive power from the battery. Hence, the car battery drains if you leave the headlights on or charge a laptop overnight.
If you want to charge your laptop in a stationed car, your vehicle must have a deep-cycle battery. Unlike a regular car battery, a deep-cycle battery charges back up quickly after getting drained.
How Long Can You Charge a Laptop Before the Battery Drains?
It will depend on the wattage of your laptop and the capacity of the battery. Usually, a laptop can be charged for 3 hours before the car battery drains out. However, you should remove it from the charging port after 2 hours to be on the safe side.
Now you know everything necessary about charging a laptop from a car battery. Make sure you purchase the correct charger, inverter and USB cables to avoid any risks of damaging the laptop.
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