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You are here: Home / Computer Tips / How to charge any laptop with your car

How to charge any laptop with your car

Posted on December 18, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

These days it’s hard to imagine taking a long drive without having a car charger on board to keep the battery in your cell phone topped off.

But what about your laptop?

While some modern laptops can be charged with a standard USB-type car charger and a compatible cable, there are plenty of others that can only be charged using the AC power brick that came with the laptop. 

Electronics retailers do sell car chargers that work with a number of popular laptops brands and models, but not all.

What’s more, choosing the right car charger for a specific laptop can be tedious at best.

Luckily, there’s a very simple (and much more flexible) solution…

Get yourself an inexpensive 12VDC to 120VAC power inverter and you’ll be able to charge virtually any laptop while driving down the road in your vehicle.

Just plug the inverter into your vehicle’s 12V “Accessories” socket (what was once referred to as the “cigarette lighter socket”) and then plug the laptop’s AC power brick into the inverter. Problem solved.

By the way, the awesome inverter I linked to above also has two USB charging ports in addition to the two 120VAC ports. That means you’ll be able to charge your laptop plus a couple of mobile devices at the same time.

And here’s one more little bonus for you…

That same inverter can also power most any small AC appliance that draws up to 500 watts. It isn’t strictly for use with laptops.

Just be aware that you’ll be limited to running appliances that draw 150 watts or less while the inverter is plugged into the Accessories socket since a larger power draw would cause the Accessory circuit’s fuse to blow. If your appliance draws more that 150 watts you’ll need to connect the inverter directly to your car’s battery using the included alligator clips (which won’t really be an option while you’re driving).

 







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