A Rechargeable Battery

A rechargeable battery is a group of one or more secondary cells. Rechargeable batteries use electrochemical reactions that are electrically reversible. They are also known as a storage battery. Rechargeable batteries come in many different sizes and use different combinations of chemicals. They offer economical and environmental benefits compared to disposable batteries. Some rechargeable types of battery are available in the same sizes as disposable types like the AA, AAA. While the rechargeable cells are of higher cost initially, they can be recharged many times. Proper selection of a rechargeable battery system can reduce toxic materials sent to landfills compared to an equivalent series of disposable batteries.

Rechargeable batteries are currently used for applications such as automobile starters, portable consumer devices, and light vehicles such as motorized wheelchairs, golf carts, electric bicycles, and electric forklifts, tools, and uninterruptible power supplies. They are also being put to use in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles thereby driving the technology for a rechargeable battery to improve cost, reduce weight, and increase lifetime.

Industrial rechargeable batteries are used in Grid energy storage applications for load leveling, where they store electric energy for use during peak load periods, and for renewable energy uses, such as storing power generated from photovoltaic arrays during the day to be used at night. By charging batteries during periods of low demand and returning energy to the grid during periods of high electrical demand, load-leveling helps eliminate the need for expensive peaking power plants and helps reduce cost of generators over more hours of operation. Fortunately, several manufacturers have now released pre-charged or “ready to use” rechargeable batteries, which can be used straight out of the pack as the battery already holds about 70% of the rated capacity. Thus, rechargeable batteries are the most economical and environmentally-friendly batteries for high-drain and frequently used gadgets.