The performance of a battery is measured in capacity, a leading health indicator. A battery may fail within the allotted time due to heavy use or unfavorable temperature conditions however, most packs last considerably longer than what the stamp indicates. In lieu of cycle count, some device manufacturers suggest battery replacement on a date stamp, but this method does not take usage into account. Manufacturers take a conservative approach and specify the life of Li-ion in most consumer products as being between 300 and 500 discharge/charge cycles.Įvaluating battery life on counting cycles is not conclusive because a discharge may vary in depth and there are no clearly defined standards of what constitutes a cycle(See BU-501: Basics About Discharging). In theory such a mechanism should work forever, but cycling, elevated temperature and aging decrease the performance over time. The lithium-ion battery works on ion movement between the positive and negative electrodes. BU-415: How to Charge and When to Charge?.Check what causes capacity loss, how does rising internal resistance affect performance, what does elevated self-discharge do and how low can a battery be discharged? You may also be interested in the fundamentals of battery testing. Each battery system has unique needs in terms of charging speed, depth of discharge, loading and exposure to adverse temperature. Today, Li-ion meets the expectations of most consumer devices but applications for the EV need further development before this power source will become the accepted norm.Īs battery care-giver, you have choices in how to prolong battery life. Notable advancements have been made in longevity and safety while the capacity is increasing incrementally. Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is still improving. Many satellites are also powered by Li-ion. Applications are growing and are encroaching into markets that previously were solidly held by lead acid, such as standby and load leveling. There are good reasons to be optimistic as lithium-ion is, in many ways, superior to other chemistries. Battery research is focusing on lithium chemistries so much that one could imagine that the battery future lies solely in lithium.

Ac 250 load chart