Is there such a thing as smart batteries?

Batteries can be thought of as living things whose behavior is directly influenced by their surroundings and maintenance. A battery's lifespan can be limited by being overcharged or kept in an environment with high temperatures. In contrast, one that is adequately cared for can operate for many years with minimal maintenance. Having a way to determine the battery's charge condition is essential in order to recharge batteries properly. 

This must be matched with maximizing the battery's discharge and longevity to provide value for money. The proper battery specification is consequently of the utmost importance to designers of portable devices. Smart batteries, a battery solution that has been available for some time, can significantly reduce risk while simplifying the battery specification process.

What does a smart battery do?

No matter how they are being charged, used, or stored, smart batteries constantly monitor their own capacity. Milli-ampere hours (mAh), with a resolution of 1mAh, are units used to measure battery capacity. The actual capacity is expressed in mAh and as a percentage of the capacity specified in the battery's original design and the most recent charge. The battery fuel gauge uses specific correction factors to account for changes in the battery's temperature, charge rate, discharge rate, etc.

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Additionally, adaptive smart battery gauges update their adjustments as the battery ages, its chemical composition changes, and its capacity to store a charge declines. Smart batteries can typically estimate their capacity to within ±1%, a significant improvement far above ±20% accuracy found in devices using "dumb" batteries. Smart batteries can also increase the usable life of a battery by altering their charging algorithm in response to changing environmental conditions: If batteries are charged at extremely cold or extremely hot temperatures, they may be destroyed. Therefore, smart batteries will lower the charging voltage while the battery is warming to reduce the risk of damage and stop charging entirely if the battery is unusually cold or hot. 

Smart batteries require a unique charge voltage and current out of a suitable smart charger in order to increase charge efficiency and safety. Using this technique, you can be confident that batteries are only charged if necessary and at the proper voltage and current. Smart batteries that are "SMBus (System Management Bus) and SBDS" compliant follow an open standard that is simple for OEM device developers to access. 

For many portable devices, smart batteries and smart charging systems check all the right boxes, offering definite benefits in terms of life, charge, safety, and future-proofing. The market for smart charging solutions is now largely developed. However, designers frequently need to consider the possibility of implementing smart charging systems. Additionally, the battery life and degree of adaptability that designers can anticipate from particular smart power technologies are constantly changing.

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Smart lithium battery Life

lithium batteries shouldn't be left idle in storage or devices for long periods. Check the battery's charge status after six months of inactivity, then recharge or discard the battery as necessary. A lithium-ion battery's usual lifetime is estimated to be between two and three years, or 300 and 500 charge cycles. One charge cycle is when a device is entirely charged, fully discharged, and then fully recharged. For batteries that aren't fully charged, please give them a two to three-year life expectancy.

Tips for Longer Battery Lifespan:

Understanding the Battery Language

A positive electrode and a negative electrode make up a lithium-ion battery. Ions travel from one electrode to the other while your battery is being charged or discharged, and electrons leave the battery via the electrical current. It appears as though both electrodes are breathing by moving ions inside and outside. When the battery generates current, electrons are passing from the anode to the cathode. 

By sending electrons back to the anode and allowing lithium ions to re-intercalate in the cathode, reversing the current enables the battery to recharge itself. The battery's capacity is recovered in this way. A cycle is used to describe the entire charging/discharging operation. Depending on the production process, the chemical constituents, and the actual usage, a battery's cycle life might range from one to another.

Design your BMS with caution.

Li-Ion batteries must be used in conjunction with electronics, regardless of the application. A battery management system (BMS)  is the name of this essential electronic component. The required safety features that halt the discharge and charge protect the battery from overcharge or power loss. To prevent overheating, the BMS monitors the temperature and disengages the battery.

Control the discharge.

Before your batteries go out entirely, recharge them. The battery longevity will be increased by not allowing it entirely discharge. Make sure your batteries are 50% charged if you intend to keep them for a while. Lithium batteries perform better at 40%–50% depth of discharge?compared to other battery types, which require recharges throughout their storage time.

Expert Tip: Before recharging your lithium-based battery, let it discharge after every 30 charges. By doing this, digital memory is less likely to occur. The precision of the battery gauge on your device may be compromised by digital memory. You may get the battery gauge to reset by letting it entirely discharge.

How is a smart battery different from a normal battery?

Any battery present in a traditional portable device arrangement is merely a "dumb" chemical power cell. The readings "taken" by the host computer serve as the sole basis for battery metering, capacity estimation, and other power usage decisions. These readings are usually based on the amount of voltage traveling from the cell through the host computer or (less precisely) on readings taken by a Coulomb Counter in the host. They are primarily dependent on guesswork.

However, a smart battery BMS enables the battery to accurately "inform" the host how much power it has left and how it wants to be charged. Communication between the battery, smart charger, and host device aims to maximize product performance, efficiency, and safety. For instance, smart batteries only ask for a charge when they need it instead of continuously 'draining' the host system. Smart batteries, therefore, charge more effectively.