You are all used to the fact that charging a mobile phone or tablet in a car is quite simple. The car’s electrical network is designed to charge these devices. Some vehicles have separate USB charging ports, while others require a cigarette lighter plug. But sometimes you need to charge other, more powerful mobile devices, such as laptops. It will be somewhat more complicated to do. In this article, I will talk about how to charge your laptop in a car?
How to Charge Your Laptop in Car? Top 6 Ways Working in 2024
Let’s check out the top 6 ways to charge your laptop in a car working in 2024:
Cigarette lighter adapter
The first way will allow you to charge your laptop in a car from the cigarette lighter or ensure its operation from the onboard network. It is the use of a special adapter. It can convert 12V from a car’s cigarette lighter to AC and then re-convert (i.e. boost) it to DC voltages that can operate or recharge a laptop in a car. If you’re the type who spends more time in the car than in front of a desk, this might be the sensible solution for you.
When choosing such an adapter, keep in mind that the output voltage values of the charger from the laptop kit and the adapter purchased for the car must match. The current of the car charger must be equal to or greater than that of the standard network. An important detail will be the connector for connecting to a laptop. There are many modifications of them, and you need to choose the appropriate one. Fortunately, many manufacturers complete their adapters with a set of adapters for connecting to different laptops connectors.
Via power inverter 12–220 V & Native charger
The second way is to charge a laptop in a car using a 12-220V inverter.
An inverter is a DC-to-AC converter, and the value of the voltage value changes. Use a 12-220V inverter to connect to the car’s onboard network. It not only charges laptops directly from the “native” charger (there is a 220 V socket on the case of such an inverter). But it also makes it possible to connect various low-power household appliances.
Power bank for laptops
Use a power bank for laptops. It is perhaps the simplest solution for your battery. Easily purchased online or at any retail electronics point of sale, they usually cost between 50 and 200 dollars, depending on the type of recharge offered and the capacity in mAh. The adapter usually has multiple inputs, one of which probably fits into your laptop’s charging port. When connected, the adapter will not only power the laptop but will also recharge the battery.
External laptop battery charger
Purchase an external laptop battery charger. These are standalone devices that don’t connect directly to your laptop. Rather, they connect directly to the laptop’s battery after being taken out. Once this is done, the charger will be connected to the mains. When the battery is fully charged, reinsert it into the laptop, and that’s it. External chargers need to be specific to each make and model, so make sure you have one that matches your laptop’s specifications. An advantage to an external charger is that you can charge spare batteries without having to pause what you are doing with your laptop.
Using a car laptop charger
Unlike the first option, this one is more gentle for your car, particularly the battery. With it, you can quickly charge your laptop without any problems in the form of a dead battery. Since this method does not need 220 volts and is made in the video of a separate charger, designed to work only on a 12V network. The approximate price is 30 dollars.
via USB port
Of course, most laptops are still charged from chargers with a voltage of about 19 volts through special connectors, as described above. But you cannot ignore the new models that are powered via a USB port and voltages other than 19 volts. Therefore, let’s see if it is possible to charge your laptops in a car.
I am talking primarily about laptops with support for fast charging – this is a technology for transferring power through a USB type C port. These are relatively expensive flagship models.
The most famous model with this charging method was the Apple Macbook (model range after 2015).
The chargers for these laptops are different from the usual USB Type-A adapters have commonly used to charge mobile phones.
Fast charging adapters often indicate more than one value of voltage and current such as 5 volts 2.4 amperes. But several, for example: 5V / 2A, 12V / 1.5A, 12V / 3A, 12-20 / 3A, 12-20V / 4.75 -5A.
In addition to power delivery and type C, it is also worth mentioning that there are laptops that are charged from USB standard 5 volts. Usually, they are equipped with low-power processors such as Intel Atom.
And in order to charge them in the car, you will need an adapter, like for a smartphone, that is, with an output of 5 volts without any “fast charges” there, with a current of up to 3 amperes.
Unfortunately, a new task will appear: the cord from the charger of such laptops is not “detachable,” and you will have to make it yourself by purchasing a suitable round plug and solder it to USB-AF in order to connect it to such a charger.
This conversation about charging laptops in the car came to an end. How do you do it? Write in the comments.
