Information About Batteries

Batteries come in lots of different types and sizes ranging from the early lead-acid batteries to the most recent types such as Lithium Ion Polymer. The different types of battery that are available all have advantages and disadvantages which need to be borne in mind when choosing a battery for a particular application.

Battery Types

Batteries fall into two main types, disposable (often called primary cells) which cannot be recharged and must be disposed of when they are run down, and rechargeable (often called secondary cells) which can be used many times.

Disposable Batteries

These are the main types of disposable batteries and where they are most commonly used.

Alkaline - cameras, flashlights and radios.
Lithium - clocks and computers.
Nickel Oxyhydroxide - digital cameras.
Silver-oxide - hearing aids, calculators and watches.
Zinc-carbide - flashlights and radios.
Zinc-carbon - flashlights and radios

Rechargeable Batteries

These are the main types of rechargeable batteries and where they are most commonly used.

Gel - motorcycles.
Lead-acid - automobiles.
Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) - radio control models.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) - radio control models, digital cameras and laptop computers.
Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) - digital cameras and laptop computers.
Lithium Ion Polymer (Li-Po) - mobile phones and mp3 players.

Battery Ratings and what they mean

A battery has two ratings, volts (V) and amp-hours (Ah). Note that smaller batteries are usually rated in milliamp-hours (mAh) rather than amp-hours (Ah). The voltage rating of a replacement battery needs match the voltage rating of the original battery or the equipment may be damaged. However, the amp-hour rating does not need to match the battery you are replacing. The higher the amp-hour rating, the longer the battery will be able to supply energy before needing to be recharged or replaced. This means that for example, in your digital camera, you can safely replace 1300mAh batteries with 2100mAh batteries.