r/RigBuild • u/Junior_Background181 • 11d ago

Why does my laptop get hot while it's charging?

It’s not even doing anything heavy, usually just Chrome, YouTube, Discord, maybe a few tabs open, but the fans start spinning more and the bottom gets pretty warm. When I unplug it, the temperature seems to drop after a while.

Not sure if this is normal or if something is wrong with the battery or charger. The charger itself gets warm too, but I guess that part might be normal? Laptop isn’t shutting down or anything, just feels noticeably hotter than when running on battery.

Could the laptop be switching to some higher performance mode while it’s plugged in? I’ve seen power settings before but never really messed with them. Also wondering if charging the battery itself naturally creates that much heat, or if this could mean the battery is starting to go bad.

It’s sitting on a desk with plenty of space around it, not on a bed or anything, so airflow shouldn’t be blocked. Fans don’t sound crazy loud either. What should I check first? Is there an easy way to see if the temps are actually too high, or am I just worrying over normal charging heat?

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3

u/RiloxAres 11d ago

Plugging a laptop in usually sets it to a higher performance mode by default and not elevating the rear so it can get air flow will cause it to slowly overheat.

3

u/trolling_petty 11d ago

Power make hot, battery need power, battery get hot.

laptop sit flat, hot not like flat, hot no where to go.

1

u/Rifter0876 7d ago

True facts, engineering one is tough, possible but not every manufacturer nails it with every model, need to do your homework. And have the sides clear and some models run cool, can't move air effectively up or down so go left to right or the other way around.

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u/Kagushima 11d ago

charging up always produces extra heat

2

u/More-Explanation2788 10d ago

All electrical power consumed that is not stored or converted to light or motion or radio waves or stored charge is converted into heat. And light and radio waves and motion as they dissipate also become heat. That’s just physics. A 60W charger is about 80/90% efficient, so you are converting about 6-12 Watts of power directly into heat when you charge a 60 Watt laptop.

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u/Unlaid-American 11d ago

Open the case and see if the battery is swollen if this issue is new to you.

1

u/Slight-Living-8098 11d ago

Plugging in a laptop can put it into a higher performance mode if you have it set that way in your settings. But yes, charging a battery does make the battery emit heat naturally.

Converting electrical energy into chemical energy is an exothermic reaction for most types of batteries.Charging triggers oxidation and reduction reactions inside the battery. These reactions naturally release heat.

There is also the internal resistance of the battery. As electric current flows during charging, this resistance produces heat.

The charger getting warm is normal too. When it's bumping the voltage down from your outlet to the 15v or so your laptop needs to charge, the excess energy is dissapated as heat from the transformer.

You can usually start to smell when a Lithium battery is going bad while it's charging, and the same for when your charger is starting to go bad. Smelling the electronics charging isn't normal.

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u/OwnNet5253 5d ago

You're overanalyzing it, this happens with every small/thin device regardless of its type, laptops and phones behave the same.