Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Advances in Rechargeable Batteries

Copyright (c) 2012 Morel Hudson

There is a wide range of different rechargeable batteries today as a result of the vast development and improvement in the technology of batteries. The upside of these advances is that today there is far more choice than ever before however the downside is that the choices are more complex.

Whether you are battery purchaser in the domestic market or you need to purchase batteries for industrial or commercial situations mainly for lighting the choices have become equally comprehensive and we can have a look at these today. There are five main types of rechargeable batteries now commonly used to power equipment and electronic devices. These are SLA or sealed lead-acid, RAM Battery or the rechargeable alkaline manganese, Ni-Cad or nickel- cadmium, Ni-MH or the nickel metal hydride battery, and the Li-ion or the lithium-ion battery.

So actually what is a battery. A battery is a device that stores electrical energy in a chemical form and the areas they differ are the amount of energy that each can actually store. And therefore provide or deliver when required for use. The amount of energy densities, that is much electrical energy can per stored per kilo of battery weight can vary significantly with the various types of rechargeable batteries in the marketplace.

For example SLA types are the lowest while Ni-Cad batteries provide up to double and the Ni-MH battery can provide even more. Unfortunately even allowing for the significant advances in battery technology battery life can vary and losses can occur. In part due to the internal resistances and other losses it is always required to add more energy than is being used. And the industry rule of thumb is that 40% more energy needs to be added or inputted into a battery than has been used. Therefore, to fully charge a battery from flat the battery must be charged to 140% of its capacity to reach 100% full charge.

SLA batteries have the lowest self-discharge rate of any rechargeable battery and don't suffer from the effect of memory loss with Ni-Cad. RAM batteries tend to have a shorter life cycle of Ni-Cad batteries and this makes them suitable for lower cost situations of consumer use. Ni-Cad batteries have higher energy density than SLA's; in fact up to twice the energy density and their lower costs make them ideal for powering portable electronic equipment like cordless power tools, torches, vacuum cleaners and so on although Ni-Cads can suffer from some memory loss. They prefer a deep charge and a quick charge. If used properly Nicads can deliver very cost effective energy storage and in fact can have the longest life of any of the rechargeable batteries available.


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Morel Hudson writes articles for small business and JB Battery and for further information on commercial batteries and rechargeable batteries please contact JB Battery http://jbbattery.com.au an Australian supplier to the exit sign industry.


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