In everyday life, we are surrounded by a lot of things that work on batteries. That is why they are an integral part of the modern world. However, for many people, these batteries are a headache, because they can very quickly lose their charge, which makes it necessary to constantly buy new power supplies. To reduce the number of such purchases, you need to understand that there is such a thing as a battery shelf life, which you must pay attention to when buying such products.
Battery classification and battery life
First of all, you need to understand that all batteries are divided into disposable and rechargeable. An example of a rechargeable battery is any battery for a phone or a car, and one-time batteries are those standard batteries that we are used to buying at the department stores in supermarkets. Both rechargeable and disposable batteries have an expiration date, which mainly depends on the material of the power source and operating conditions.
So, batteries hold their charge the least, which is compensated by the possibility of replenishment. Typically, their battery life is measured in cycles. That is why it is quite difficult to say the exact expiration date of different batteries. However, based on relevant studies, it was found that the battery for the phone lasts for 1 year.
In turn, disposable batteries can be classified as follows:
- Saline. This is the simplest type of battery, which is suitable for low-power equipment. The service life of such power sources does not exceed 2 years. At low temperatures, they quickly lose their charge.
- Alkaline Batteries of this type are very popular among consumers, since they can last up to 5 years.
- Lithium These power sources are the most powerful, which allows them to power quite powerful devices (flash units, musical equipment) for 10 years. They retain their initial performance even at low temperatures due to the lack of water in their composition.
Storage conditions
In order for the expiration dates to be consistent with the stated indicators, power supplies must be stored in appropriate conditions. The following are the most important recommendations:
- If you are not going to use the batteries in the near future, it is best not to get them out of the package.
- Do not place batteries of different types, as well as new and used power supplies, near. Direct contact between these power supplies can adversely affect their performance.
- Store batteries at room temperature and prevent direct contact with moisture.
- Rechargeable batteries must be kept charged.
How to find out the production date
It is worth mentioning that knowing the shelf life of different types of batteries does not mean knowing their "age". In other words, understanding the expiration date is absolutely useless if you do not know when this or that battery was made. This should be separately emphasized, since information on the release date is of the following three types:
- on the package;
- on the battery itself;
- in the form of a cipher.
As for the first two types, everything should be obvious here. In order to find out the shelf life of finger batteries, you need to carefully study the power source or its packaging. Typically, manufacturers prefer one of these methods to indicate the release date of their products.
However, there are situations when a certain code is present on the batteries instead of the date of manufacture. At first glance, it may seem like a completely random set of characters, but knowing the basic principle will help you easily decipher this rebus. So, in any cipher, the first digit means the year of issue, the next letter is the number of the month in accordance with its ordinal number in the English alphabet, and the last digits are a specific number. For example, a code in the form of Y5E17 means that the battery was released on May 17, 2015. As you can see, there is nothing complicated.
Separately, it is worth noting that if you buy batteries for yourself and cannot find the date of manufacture, it would be better to refuse this purchase. There is a very high probability that the shelf life of this power source has already expired.
Shelf life of batteries "Durasel"
The power sources of this manufacturer are considered a real breakthrough in this area, since the manufacturer claims that the service life is as much as 10 years, which was made possible thanks to the unique production technology of these power sources. The company claims that such a period was obtained experimentally as a result of laboratory studies.
The real state of affairs is slightly different from the declared period. As practice shows, the maximum service life of such batteries is no more than 5 years. The above figure was stated because laboratory tests were conducted under artificial conditions. It is worth noting that the same situation is observed with the shelf life of Energizer batteries.
Solar Battery Life
In our age of advanced technologies, the extraction of solar energy and, accordingly, solar panels is very popular. As we understand, they also have their own expiration date, which significantly exceeds the figures indicated earlier. So, experts have proved that 30 years is the average duration of the full functioning of solar panels with proper operation.
Disposal
Given the fact that batteries are a combination of chemical elements for the production of electrical energy, it is easy to guess that they have a certain effect on the human body and the environment. Despite this, very few people today in our country worry about the harmfulness of these food sources and calmly throw them away with household garbage. This is a very big mistake, because even one finger-type battery can pollute 20 sq.m. soil with harmful substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium.
That is why in Europe there are heavy fines for throwing batteries along with ordinary garbage. To eliminate their harmful effects, waste disposal plants are operating. In our country, there are also such factories and collection points for used batteries, but they are not very popular. Therefore, it is necessary to change people's attitude to the used sources of nutrition in order to stop harming themselves and the environment.
