Alkaline batteries have been around for years and provide good all round performance. Alkaline batteries can be split into two distinct groups, Premium and Standard Alkaline. Premium Alkaline are better for high tech devices and provide about 20% more power than Standard Alkaline Batteries which are ideal for everyday household devices such as remote controls and smoke alarms and provide dependable long lasting power. Alkaline batteries are much longer lasting than 'heavy duty' zinc carbon batteries. Alkaline batteries have longer shelf lives. Lithium Not to be confused with Lithium Ion which is rechargeable technology used for mobile phone and digital camera battery packs. Disposable Lithium provides amazing performance in high drain devices. Disposable Lithium batteries last up to seven times longer than Standard Alkaline Batteries in a high drain device, such as a digital camera or an MP3 player. It is the best performing of all the disposable batteries, and works well at extreme temperatures.Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) The best choice for intensive high drain usage. High capacity Ni-MH rechargeable batteries last up to four times longer on one charge than alkaline batteries in a digital camera. Ni-MH batteries don't suffer from memory effect, so they don't have to be fully flat before recharging them. Ni-MH have taken over from Ni-Cd as the most popular type of rechargeable, as they offer much longer run times and they are better for the environment. Ni-MH batteries lose about 1% of their charge capacity a day when not in use. This makes them unsuitable for standby applications such as smoke alarms and a poor choice for very low drain devices like TV remote controls. Ni-MH require charging before their first use.Rechargeable batteries Rechargeable batteries will save you money and in certain applications they out perform disposable batteries like alkaline. Rechargeable batteries cost about twice as much as disposable batteries, but you will get your money back hundreds of times over as the rechargeable batteries will last for many years. All rechargeable batteries sold in Maplin can be recharged up to 500 times. If you buy batteries at least once every six months for a particular device, then you should consider switching to rechargeable batteries. |
