You need power, and lots of it, when you work in real estate. Not just mental power to get you through another demanding day, but battery power to ensure that your smartphone, laptop, digital camera, and other integral gadgets are keeping you connected and productive hour after hour.

A battery drain could translate into a missed call, unanswered e-mails, or photos that can’t be snapped on schedule. Fortunately, there are simple things you can do to extend the life of your batteries and prevent unforeseen drains from becoming disasters. Here’s how.

1. Know your battery’s limits. How old is your battery? If you’ve had your electronics for a while, it may be time for a new battery. Over time, all batteries lose their ability to hold a charge. If the battery’s getting old, you may need a replacement. Turn to the original equipment vendor first and remember that quality matters. Some aftermarket batteries have caused problems. If it’s a no-name brand offered at an unbelievable bargain online, it might not be a long-lasting battery.

2. Turn down the screen. The brighter the screen, the more power your gadget is consuming. Turn off the camera monitor between snapping photos. With a computer or phone, learn how to control the screen’s brightness and turn the backlight off. Whenever possible, move to a darker corner or the shade where you won’t need the screen at full brightness.

3. Minimize multitasking. To economize your use of power on computers and smart phones, don’t overburden your processor. Rather than open and run several programs simultaneously, concentrate on one chore at a time as much as possible. Even when an application is open in the background and not in use, the processor requires a little more power.

4. Disable wireless. Switch off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth until you need them. Otherwise, your hardware is pointlessly searching for a connection you won’t use, reducing available power for other functions.

5. Unplug peripherals. Any peripherals powered through a USB port tax battery life. Restrict use until you can plug into AC or DC power.

6. Prioritize your needs. Make selective use of your hardware to conserve power. Your smart phone may also be an MP3 or video player, but those functions will cut into talk or Web time. You can watch DVDs on your laptop, but when you’re finished, you likely won’t have much battery life left for anything else.

7. Install your applications. Avoid using your laptop’s optical DVD/CD-ROM drive as much as possible when you’re not able to plug your laptop in. The motor and moving parts drain battery life. It’s better to work from the drive than disc.

8. Increase the RAM. The more RAM you have, the less work your processor has to do to find and manage data resources. It will improve performance and overall efficiency.

9. Let your laptop sleep. Set the sleep mode to launch after a shorter duration of inactivity, and choose the sleep mode over the screen saver mode to conserve power.

10. Shop for efficiency. Next time you're in the market for new hardware, consider battery life as a compelling feature. Step up to a better battery, and buy a backup. Consider migrating to the emerging class of hardware that runs on flash drives and flash memory. With no moving parts, these devices make more efficient use of power, reducing overall size and weight in the process.

11. Charge properly. Effective power management begins with knowing the proper maintenance and procedures. Learn how to properly manage the battery recharge cycle. On some types of batteries, it is possible to over-charge. For example, with older NiCad or NiMH batteries it’s important to completely drain the battery between recharges. On the other hand, with the newer lithium-based batteries, that’s not an issue.

12. Have a solid backup plan. There will still come a time when you suddenly find you’ve run out of juice. Common sense says you should buy the rechargeable with the longest life from the outset, and also invest in and carry a fully charged backup. For highly compact handheld devices, one way to make sure a portable power source is always at hand is to buy products that can run off AA or triple AA batteries, or invest in an alternate backup power source that runs on them. 

Here are some alternate power sources you may want to consider:

-- Lenovo recently introduced an all-in-on multi-purpose power adapter for its laptops. The compact Thinkpad and Ideapad 90W AC/DC adapter can be used to power or recharge compatible laptops and other types of mobile hardware, including most mobile phones, PDAs, and MP3 players. Price: suggested retail $119.

-- Black and Decker markets a range of backup power systems for mobile devices in its Power To Go line. These rechargeable power packs connect to a device via its AC power connector or USB port and can be used to provide emergency, short term power. Price: starting around $39.99, depending on battery life and type of device.

-- Zap Electronics offers several power solutions in its Recharge It All line. They include the M48 universal laptop battery/recharging system, $149.99; the R07-PL2 Power Pack, $39.99 a power/recharge system for mobile handsets and digital cameras; and the RX-4 CC universal battery charger, $29.99, with rechargeable AA batteries and DC power tips for connecting with most cell phones, cameras, and Bluetooth devices.

-- Pocket Socket from Charge 2 Go provides an easy answer for ensuring ample power is always available. This system never requires recharging. Simply insert a standard AA battery in unit and connect it to your phone or handheld via its mini-USB cable. One battery can add up to two hours more of talk time to the typical cell phone. Price: $16.99. The larger Charge 2 Go Power Station uses two AA batteries to recharge phones with as much as nine hours of talk-time depending on the phone’s make and model. Connecting tips are available for a range of mobile electronics devices. Price: $29.99

-- Iogear offers two approaches to back up power with its Gear Juice line. Gear Juice Mobile Pocket Power is a rechargeable power pack with seven interchangeable connectors for connecting with mobile hardware. It draws juice off its own power pack to recharge mobile electronics’ batteries up to three times before the unit needs to be recharged. Price: $39.95. Like the Charge 2 Go Systems, Gear Juice Rescue draws its power off an AA battery to provide a quick boost to mobile devices via mini-USB connector when the device battery fails. Price: $11.99.

-- Mobility Electronics offers a single system for all mobile power needs with its iGo Everywhere line of power adapters/recharging systems. Offered in versions for laptops and mobile devices, each adapter can power a range of equipment with optional connecting tips. Price: starting at $39.99 for the mobile handset version; $129.99 for the laptop version.