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Low Self Discharge
A battery that keeps its charge
While rechargeable batteries have become a part of everyone´s daily life in various electronic gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras etc., the consumption of disposable batteries is still high. Obviously the consumers are still reluctant to replace these non-rechargeable batteries in many household devices with rechargeable batteries.
In 2005 SANYO asked hundreds of consumers if they knew about rechargeable batteries, and the reasons why they are still using disposable batteries. The major reason given by the consumers was that they were disappointed by the high self-discharge of rechargeable batteries.
"Whenever you need them they are empty and need to be recharged", was a common reply.
This complaint about rechargeable batteries was reasonable, because at that time all manufacturers of rechargeable batteries focussed their development on higher and higher capacity, and nobody seemed to care about the self-discharge.
Compared to classic alkaline batteries which keep their charge for years, the available NiMH batteries had rather a high self discharge rate.
Sanyo were the first company to take on board this criticism from the consumers and developed a rechargeable battery with very low self-discharge: eneloop.
While conventional NiMH Batteries suffer from substantial self-discharge, eneloop batteries have a drastically reduced self-discharge.
- Click to enlarge
The diagram above shows a comparison between a conventional SANYO NiMH battery and an eneloop battery.
While the eneloop battery retains 85% of its initial charge after a storage time of 360 days, a conventional NiMH battery from SANYO has lost 35%.
Some NiMH batteries have an even worse rate of self disccharge. A loss of 1% of its initial charge per day is not uncommon.
This breakthrough in battery technology is a very strong argument against the prejudice that rechargeable batteries lose their charge too fast.
Now eneloops can be charged and stored for months and still provide allmost full capacity and performance.
No more need for last-minute charging or frequent re-charging to have a full battery at hand when needed.
Now and finally, rechargeable batteries can be used in applications which were previously limited to alkaline batteries.
Yes you can use a rechargeable battery in your remote control for your TV-set.
Maybe it will not last quite as long as your previously used alkaline battery, but it will last a very long time, and let’s not forget you can recharge and re-use it over and over again.
