The modern battery buyer knows that batteries come in all shapes and sizes, but are some truly far superior to the rest?
Today's battery industry is booming and evolving. If you were to ask competitive battery retailers the above question, they would undeniably nod their heads in agreement for the sake of selling a product. The average consumer is constantly bombarded by new batteries advertised to be things like: "super long-lasting," "ultra-compact," or "1,000 cycles, and charges at lightning speed." But is it all true?
Manufacturing companies, on the other hand, would instead ask, "What so you plan to use the battery for?"
Mike Burke, a custom-assembly tech at Jasco Battery, Inc. in Oxford, CT, summarizes from the manufacturers viewpoint: "There's a bunch of different types of batteries because you need them for various applications. There's usually a "best" battery for a certain purpose, but there's always a sacrifice with, say, either how long it lasts, or how often you have to charge it. [For example, an advertised] "long-lasting" battery may keep charge for a really long time for its cycle, but only as a tradeoff for the overall life of the battery, and those cycles will get worse and worse over time."
NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) and Li-ion (lithium ion) batteries, commonly used in cell phones and laptops, for example, are now super slim. They're only good for a moderate amount of cycles, however--usually around 300-400. High-density NiMH batteries are best suited for bulky, cylindrical containers that no one would want to keep in their pocket. Also, as the article "What's the Best Battery?" published on BatteryUniversity's website, points out, technology for types of batteries is developing rapidly. It's not unrealistic to assume that scientific engineers will soon create a battery with a 1,000 plus cycle lifetime, long-lasting charge, in an energy-dense, compact casing. Such a battery, however, will not be available to the public in the near future for two reasons. Such high energy density is currently deemed "too dangerous," and the cost would be exorbitantly high.
Secondary batteries can be compared in terms of energy density, cost, longevity, load-bearing parameters, and maintenance. NiCd , NiMH, Li-ion, Lead-Acid, and NiMH Polymer batteries all have their advantages and disadvantages.
"You have to know what you want," says Burke. "You wouldn't want a heavy, bulky battery, like a sealed lead-acid set up in your two-way radio unless you're trying to get in a work out picking the thing up. But in a car where the application is bearing the load, it works well."