Battery
Applications
As well as the various types of battery construction, there is a wide range of different chemicals used in the different types of cell. Below is a general comparison table for the different battery types. If you wish to find out more about the science behind the various technologies, please see The Science of Batteries section.
This table provides a quick reference guide to the various battery technologies available. For more information on why certain batteries are better for various applications see Applications below.
| Battery Type | Nominal Voltage (per cell) | Typical Application | Comments |
| Primary
Cells |
|||
| Alkaline (Zinc Manganese Dioxide) | 1.5v | Audio equipment, torches, cameras, games. | Most common battery, not good for use in portable digital devices. |
| Zinc Carbon | Varies (approx 1.5v) | Toys, radios, torches and amplifiers. | Cheapest of all technologies but this is reflected in performance. They have the lowest capacity, low storage life and are very susceptible to temperature (capacity drastically reduces at low temperatures). |
| Zinc Chloride | 1.5v | Torches, toys, clocks, flashing warning-lamps. | Around half the const of long-life alkaline batteries, however performance shows with this reduced price. |
| Zinc Silver Oxide | 1.55v | Watches, car keys, camera memory, calculators, electronic address books. | Most stable voltage characteristics of ‘Button-type’ cells and deliver high performance. |
| Zinc Air | 1.2v–1.3v | Hearing aids, pagers and personal medical instruments | Twice the capacity of Silver Oxide; however, have a shorter service life. |
| Lithium Thionyl Chloride | 3.6v | Principally Low discharge rate applications. | Very wide operating temperature range; -55°C to +85°C. |
| Lithium Manganese Dioxide | 3.0v | Principally Low discharge rate applications. | Have a wide operating temperature range of -30°C to +60°C. |
| Lithium Poly Carbonmo-nofluoride | 3.0v | From calculators and games to clocks and car keys. (Specifically used by Panasonic) | Similar characteristics to Lithium Manganese Dioxide |
| Secondary Cells | |||
| Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) | 1.2v | Used in high drain devices such as laptop computers, mobile phones and camcorders. | Have high energy density delivering up to double the capacity of NiCd batteries of similar sizes. Broad operating temperature -20°C to +60°C. Can be recharged between 300 and 1000 times. |
| Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) | 1.2v | Used for high drain portable digital devices such as mobile/cordless phones, laptops, camcorders. | Can be charged between 300-1000 times. Now being replaced by NiMh due to environmental concerns over Cadmium. Operating temperature range of -40°C to +60°C. |
| Rechargea-ble Alkaline | 1.5v | As Primary Alkaline batteries, most used in low power applications. | Can only be recharged up to 50 times. Longest shelf life of any rechargeable battery, and low initial battery cost. Operating temperature range between 0°C to 65°C. |
| Sealed Lead Acid | 4 v-12v | UPS(Uninterruptible power supplies), Emergency lighting, Wheelchairs, Telecom back-up power supplies, Lawnmowers, Engine starters | Very reliable batteries which withstand overcharge, over discharge, and resistance to vibration and shock. Ideal for backup power supplies. |
| Lithium Ion | 3.7v | Similar to NiMH and NiCd, portable digital equipment however cost slightly more than both of these technologies. | Can be charged between 300-1000 times. Same operating temperature range as NiMH, but are more robust, as partial charge/discharge cycles have no effect on battery performance. |
The batteries you choose to use in devices such as Walkmans and CD players depend on how often you use them.
If you use them regularly, i.e. daily, then it is advisable to use rechargeable NiMH batteries. They will need to be charged quite regularly but in the long run will last longer than your standard alkaline primary battery.
If you use your device occasionally then it would be better to use standard alkaline batteries. This is because of the low self discharge rates, compared with NiMH batteries. It means that if you leave your device idle for extended periods, the battery will have sufficient power to continue to run your device.
These include devices like Camcorders/Cameras/Digital Cameras/Laptops which require large amounts of power to operate.
Secondary batteries such as Lithium-Ion and NiMH are most suited to these devices. Lithium-Ion batteries are much more expensive than NiMH mainly because they are more robust and offer higher cell voltage than NiMH (3v per cell as apposed to 1.2v). Generally, the manufacturer of the device you are using will specify which type of battery is to be used in it.
As with any device which uses rechargeable batteries, it is best if you use your device regularly. They do not hold their capacity well (Lithium Ion is slightly better than NiMH) so if they are left idle then they will not be able to power your device. It is important to charge your batteries before initial use and if they have been left for extended periods.
Button cells are the most common type of battery used for these devices. The type used will be listed in the operating instructions so your choice is limited to what the manufacturer specifies.
With Hearing Aid batteries, the amount you use the hearing aid will vary the length of time that your battery lasts in it. If you use it a lot then make this known to your hearing aid manufacturer and they will advise you on the best Hearing Aid for you.
Most if not all Hearing aid batteries use Zinc Air technology:
- These batteries come with a plastic tag attached to them.
- Once this is removed then it becomes activated and will not work until this is removed,
- Do not remove this tag until you are ready to use the battery, if it is stored like this then it will self discharge at a high rate and you may find that it won’t work when you come to using it or It will not last as long as you expected.
Again the battery used in your cordless phone will be specified by your manufacturer; however there are a few things to note about Cordless Phone batteries:
- There are a wide range of connectors used on these batteries; when you come to replacing your battery make sure you tell the supplier the make and model of your phone as well as the including the battery code and size, this will make it easier for the company to find the right replacement battery.
- You will
need to charge your new cordless phone battery for up to 24 hours before
its first use.
It is advisable to occasionally completely discharge your battery in order to restore the original capacity and discharge behaviour. (This is less important with NiMH and Lithium Ion; it is NiCd batteries which suffer greatest from partial discharge cycles. For more information see Memory Effect)
Sealed lead acid batteries are ideal for stand by application, be it alarms, emergency lighting, UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supplies). Because they are sealed, they ensure no electrolyte leakage from the casing or terminals.
Compared to other lead-acid batteries, they have superior ability to recover from deep discharge†. They can last either 5/10/20 years depending on cost in stand-by (float*) use. However they to provide between 100 – 1000 charge/discharge cycles, depending on the depth of discharge.
†Deep Discharge: Rechargeable batteries have an ‘end-of-discharge’ voltage; this voltage level varies for each battery type. At this voltage level, roughly 99% of the energy of the battery is spent and the voltage starts to drop rapidly if the discharge continued. Deep discharging is where the discharge cycle continues past this cut-off voltage, this can damage the battery, possibly irreversibly if discharging continues for too long. For more information see our Discharging section.
*Float:
is a term used in reference to charging of the battery. When batteries
are used for backup power applications, they are often left on constant
trickle charge at a very low rate. The rate of this charge is only slightly
greater than the batteries self discharge rate.