6 Things Your Customers Need to Know About Lithium-ion Batteries

Wheels are pretty cool, and a lot can be said in favor of steam engines. Refrigeration may have changed the world, but to me, the single most important invention ever is the rechargeable battery. Can you imagine using a smartphone, digital camera, iPod or notebook computer without high-capacity, long-lasting batteries? How would teenagers text for hours and hours ad nauseam?

The battery technology of choice for the past several years has been lithium ion. It’s slowly being replaced by newer chemistry, but Li-Ion still dominates. Here are six things your customers need to know about it — for their own safety and convenience.

1. Rechargeable Li-Ion batteries don’t last forever.

These three things limit their useful lifespan: the number of recharge cycles, high temperatures and chemical breakdowns caused by normal aging. Li-Ion cells will last longer if they are partially drained and then recharged. Advise your customers to try to avoid depleting them completely. Heat is a real killer, too. They should be kept in a cool, dry place — never in the glove box of a car. The age factor? Well, if a battery lasts longer than 30 months, consider yourself lucky and begin looking for a replacement. Which leads us neatly to Point Number 2.