Jul 10, 2020 Pageview:1588
Before buying a battery one has to consider some factors such as battery size, storage, and life. There are so many types of batteries with different capacities and features. Furthermore, they are made for different reasons and thus they cannot be the same.
A battery refers to a container that consists of one or more cells that help to convert chemical energy to electricity. Some are rechargeable whereas others are meant for one-time use only. The way you manage your battery contributes to how long it can maintain the quality. For Example, overcharging can reduce the lifespan of the cells.
The manufacturers are on a run to produce the most efficient batteries. Furthermore, others are making big battery sizes with more storage and life to satisfy bigger needs such as electric vehicles. In the past disposable dry cells had no international standards, each country had its favorable sizes. But later an international body IEC together with ANSI started publishing battery sizes.
A lot of batteries today are still referred by manufacturer or old designations. Also, some non-systematic battery sizes have been added on the international standards list due to their widespread use. Let has looked at the largest battery size and its storage capacity.
What is the largest battery size?
The world’s biggest battery is the Honesdale power reserve owned by Tesla in southern Australia. It features a capacity of 100 megawatts. Furthermore, this power reserve is located on a very huge wind power farm.
As the largest lithium-ion battery, it can store up to 185 Mwah. Tesla won the contract for constructing it back in 2017 for a whooping capital of $90 million. This is part of the reason why it’s dubbed Tesla's big battery name.
The Australian government has invested a lot of money on this project. This big battery saved about $50 million for consumers after the first year of operation. Due to this report, the government is now seeking to increase the output of this big lithium-ion battery up to 150 megawatts. Besides, the Australian state government has set aside another $5million for inertia measurement, a service that helps in keeping the grid safe.
This lithium-ion grid battery has brought some substantial benefits to Australia. For instance, it has increased grid reliability, integrated renewable energy resources in a grid, and also reduced energy costs. Although it was constructed by Tesla, the Australian government is on steering this battery pack project.
Tesla is planning to construct another large-scale mega pack battery project that will produce 250 megawatts this year. Other companies that produce devices such as Samsung, Huawei, and Apple have projects that aim at increasing the capacity of their batteries.
The Honesdale power Reserve is not only the biggest lithium-ion battery by size but also capacity. Other countries should follow this example to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Such batteries help make green energy more productive and cheaper for the residents.
What is the battery storage capacity?
Battery storage capacity refers to a measure of stored charge. Besides, it is determined by the amount of mass of the material that is active inside the battery. Alternatively, you can refer to it as the maximum energy that can be drawn from the battery given certain conditions. But in some cases, the actual storage capacity the battery has can vary from the initial capacity. Reason being that the battery highly depends on history usage and age.
Other factors that affect the nominal rated capacity include temperature and charging and discharging. The units of measuring battery storage capacity are Ampere hours (Ah). Alternatively, the battery storage capacity can be measured in Watt-hours, (WH) or Kilowatt-hours (kWh). However, Ampere hours (Ah) is the most common measurement unit.
Ah is the number of hours that a battery can provide current same as discharge rate. This unit (Ah) is mostly used when dealing with battery systems since the voltage changes during the charging or discharging cycle. Conversely, the (WH) so approximated by using Ahr and multiplying Ah by the known average time (nominal) battery voltage. More accurately, integrate the AH capacity by the time of the charging cycle. AH×V (t)
For example, if you have a 12V battery that has a capacity of 500 Ah. Then it will store the energy of around, 100 Ah×12V=1,200wh. But the manufacturer should give you additional information about the variation of the capacity due to the impact of temperatures and charging rates.
How do you expand battery life?
One of the fastest degrading components on every device is the battery. It is easier to maintain it than doing a replacement. Besides, most devices are expensive or inconvenient to have their batteries replaced. But with the following tips below you can expand your battery life.
1.Understand how your battery is degrading
A battery degrades with every charge cycle, especially the lithium-ion. A charge cycle refers to a full charge from 0-100% and discharges from 100 -0%. If you charge the battery partially then it will count as a fraction of a cycle. A recent study shows that a battery will store about 80% of the initial charge after 400 cycles. Reducing the charge cycles can expand battery life.
2.Avoid very high/low temperatures
The battery strains a lot in very high/low-temperature conditions. This can largely impact its performance. It is always advisable to store any kind of battery in optimal temperature conditions that will expand its life.
3.Avoid fast charging
Fast charging too can stress your battery. Unless you need charge urgently, always avoid a fast charge. Slow charging is highly recommended even if it means charging the battery the whole night.
4.Avoid draining your battery
Draining the battery to 0% will stress it a lot. Also, charging the battery completely is another way that weakens the batteries faster. We highly recommend charging the battery as soon as it gets to 20% and disconnect it at 90%. If you can manage to disconnect at 50% you will be expanding its life more.
5.Every percentage counts
If you are looking to expand the life of your phones, tablet, or laptop then you should get rid of the apps that you don't use. Some people like having so many apps on these devices and the cause the batteries to drain faster. Also, you can use a dark theme or reduce the screen brightness to cut off any unnecessary power consumption. Another effective way of increasing performance is by reducing the screen time out. This prevents the draining of the battery on the idle screen. One minute timeout is the best for saving your battery performance and expanding its life.
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