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There are many types of single use and rechargeable batteries available out there and you have many options for use in devices that operate on the more common types of batteries, but the important question is what types of batteries will work best in different devices and situations? Starting with Carbon-Zinc batteries, these you would probably want to avoid as they are just a bit cheaper than the more standard Alkaline batteries, however their life and capacity are usually a few times less than what a standard Alkaline battery would offer, let alone a high capacity ones. So go for Alkaline batteries in devices that do not require a lot of power or are not always on such as remote controls for various devices, Alkaline batteries are also good for low power consumption device that are operating all the time. You can of course also use Alkaline batteries for devices that require more power such as a digital camera or a flash for a digital camera if you are not using it very frequently for example. If you’re looking for the best battery at cheapest price, CR1632 battery is your best choice. If you are looking for batteries that need to handle higher current loads frequently, then you better think about going for rechargeable instead of primary batteries.
So, going for rechargeable NiMH batteries, but what type to use – the standard HiMH or the newer Low Self Discharge ones? Well, again it depends on the device you are going to be using them in. For example the standard NiMH batteries are not the best choice for use in low power devices such as remote controls, because of their faster self discharge even when not being used. On the other hand you can go for LSD NiMHs in a remote control without worrying about them self discharging in a year or two even if you don’t use the remote. Now, we said you can use the LSD NiMHs for low power applications, but for a remote control for example Alkaline batteries might be much better choice because they should normally last for a few years and will be much cheaper than a NiMH battery. The real strength of NiMH batteries is that they can handle pretty well in high load applications such as digital cameras or flashes that you are going to be using a lot and very frequently. Usually with NiMH batteries you would charge them right before you plan on using them with the idea that they will most likely be discharged from use like for example going to an event where you will take a lot of pictures. With LSD NiMHs you don’t need to recharge them right before you plan on using them, so it is more convenient, not to mention that when you pick them up at a store they will be pre-charged and ready to be used unlike with standard NiMHs that need to be charged prior to being used for the first time.
Generally speaking, there is no need to always go for the best or more expensive batteries as sometimes they may not work as well as you might expect in the device you got them for. You should consider what you need the batteries for and then decide which of these batteries will work best, and them you may consult our test results to see what battery performs best…
Different battery types and some of their specifics
22, Jul 2013
A Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH) and Nickel–cadmium battery (NiCd) are two similar types of type of rechargeable batteries. The main difference between the NiMH and NiCd is the chemistry they use, with the NiMH batteries capable of having higher capacity than the NiCd. The NiMH and NiCd batteries have a nominal voltage of 1.2-1.4V, though the open circuit voltage can be higher, when discharged they are down at about 1.0V. One of the significant disadvantages ot this type of batteries is the high rate of self-discharge that NiMH and NiCd (lower than on NiMH) batteries have and they do not come charged. The problem with faster self discharge and the fact that you need to charge them before use has been addressed with the more recent low self-discharge (LSD) NiMH batteries that are becoming more and more popular in the last few years. These LSD NiMH batteries come pre-charged and loose their capacity when not use at a much slower pace than traditional NiMH batteries. There is a lot of controversy going on around NiMH and NiCd batteries about the so called “memory effect” they are supposedly suffering from, but this has become more of an urban legend and a marketing tactics than something that you should be worried about as a possible problem in 99% of the time.
A Lithium-ion battery as well as other variations such as Lithium-polymer battery or Lithium-iron phosphate batteries are rechargeable (secondary cell) batteries in which lithium ions move from the anode to the cathode during discharge and back when charging. The rechargeable Li-ion, Li-Poly and LiFePO batteries are different from the standard Lithium batteries that are not rechargeable. Through advanced lithium metal production technology, different Lithium-based products such as batteries are manufactured. The rechargeable Lithium-based batteries provide lightweight, high energy density power sources for a variety of devices and are becoming more and more popular and widely used in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, game consoles, tablets and laptops. The lithium-ion batteries usually have a 3.6V or 3.7V nominal voltage, the LiFePO4 (LiFe in short) have a nominal voltage of about 3.2V or 3.3V and the lithium-polymer batteries have a nominal voltage of 3.7V per cell. With Li-ion and LiPo batteries the recommended per cell safety zone is usually between 3V (fully discharged) and 4.2V (fully charged), though you normally can discharge the batteries up to about 2.8V without problems, going below may damage them irreversibly, so these batteries often have built-in safeties not to be over-discharged, also overcharging can be dangerous. LiFe batteries are a bit different as they have a bit lower operating voltage of about 3.2V – 3.3V, the minimum discharge voltage is 2.8V and the maximum charged voltage is 3.6V. The LiFePo4 batteries have more constant discharge voltage are considered to offer better safety than other Lithium-based batteries. Other advantages of the Lithium-based rechargeable batteries include the ability for much faster charge and higher discharge rates than other chemistries mentioned and usually higher number of recharge cycles, meaning longer life when not fully discharged.
These are some of the most common types of batteries that we are going to be testing and comparing in terms of performance here on the pages of RightBattery.com, though there are many other types of batteries using different chemistry and with varying performance and features, but these are not very widely used. And since they are either too specific or nor widely spread and used, you would probably not going to need to use any of them, aside maybe from an agm deep cycle battery which is a Lead-Acid (Pb) battery. They are also the the oldest type of rechargeable battery and we are probably not going to test most of them, again aside from maybe Pb batteries.
In our everyday lives we are surrounded by different devices that use batteries to operate, just count the number of remote controls you have in your home or office, your watch uses a battery, your digital camera or camcorder, your laptop, mobile phone, or a tablet and lots more. There are many types of different batteries, both based on the chemistry they use to provide electricity as well as their formats and sizes. There is one thing common between all of them and that is that you need to choose the right battery for the right job in order to have your battery powered devices functional for longer periods of time as well as be fully operating whenever you need them. Do you remember the last time you tried to use a flashlight or another battery powered device that you don’t often need, and when you actually needed it the batteries inside were dead? Or when was the last time you were using a digital camera to take some photos and whenever you needed it most the batteries got depleted and needed to be replaced?
Choosing the right battery for the right job can ensure that you will save yourself some trouble, but this is not always an easy task with some many different battery types out there. That is how we’ve got the idea to make this website – as a place where you can find information on how different batteries perform, so you can compare the performance results and find out what are the best batteries and what will work best for you. We use specialized equipment in order to provide accurate results, results that you can trust are exactly what we get. We do hope that you will find our tests useful…
As a general rule of thumb however you should consider using Alkaline batteries in low power equipment that you also may not use that often such as a calculator, weather station or smoke alarm, of course remote controls and clocks also fall in these categories. The reason for this is that Alkaline batteries can hold charge for longer periods of time when not being used and can last for years in low power equipment even though usually they are not rechargeable. For devices such as wireless keyboards and mouse, radio toys and flashlights that are more often used you might want to consider using NiMH batteries if you use them more often, as you would need to recharge the batteries more often. Have in mind though that normal NiMH batteries loose their charge faster even when they are not being used, though now there are also some ore expensive models that come pre-charged and offer low self discharge that can help in some cases. For devices that consume more power such as digital cameras, camcorders or photo flashes you should either go for NiMH or Lithium batteries with higher capacity. Lithum-based batteries do offer low self discharge when not being used and stored in suitable conditions.
- In: Useful Battery Articles
- Tags: alkaline, batteries, battery types, lithium, nimh