Most of our battery powered devices use a major brand of rechargeable batteries, but there are certain devices that still require regular batteries (like our wireless alarm keypad, which drains rechargeables too quickly). But which battery provide the most bang for the buck? Based on the scientific research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, you might be better off buying any of those cheaper priced batteries because there is no measurable difference in quality for premium brand batteries versus generics (99 Cents Only Store time!). Except for one battery, which outlasted the rest 4-1...
After 19 hours, the Energizer Advanced Lithium battery was still running at 1.5 volts — far higher than any of the other batteries. The WPI team said that it showed "remarkable stability" compared with the rest. The testers said there was no statistically significant difference between the other batteries.
See all the comparison test findings of all 6 tested batteries at dealnews.com's, Test Results That Will Change the Way You Buy Batteries Forever
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Curious, why did Eneloop get left out of this? They're known for being the best rechargeables. Also, it looks like you're comparing a lithium battery to NiMH batteries. Different types of rechargeables excel in different situations.
Also worth noting is that most chargers wont work on lithium batteries, so you'll need a special charger for it. Most chargers are only NiMH and maybe NiCad.
@psilokan: hold on a minute. The batteries mentioned are all primaries, i.e. not rechargeable.
@article: the discharge curve of batteries is only sometimes relevant to the application. Alkaline batteries have a consistent sloped discharge curve, which is actually desirable for some applications. Lithiums do maintain their voltage, but towards the end of their life it drops suddenly. If you don't need a consistently high voltage for your device to work, the cheaper options might be better. If your device uses a simple voltage check to report on battery condition, then an alkaline will give a more accurate representation of how much life is left.
Ultimately, there are a lot of factors to consider. Energy density, performance in cold conditions, internal resistance, likelihood of leakage/failure, and the requirements of the application are all relevant when considering what batteries to get. I'm surprised that a team including graduate students led by a professor didn't take a deeper look at some of these factors. The work as presented by dealnews seems to be middle school level at best.
Like many other things, batteries are only manufactured by a small handful of companies, and then are rebranded for distribution under many names. So it could very well be that different brands sold at different price points are all giving you exactly the same cell underneath the label.
Obviously the lithium will be better. This is not an apples to apples comparison!
The Lithium was better than the other batteries? In other news you could buy more things with a dollar than with 50 cents.
Also the electrix is slightly higher in the graph than the duracell even though they are both 1.61 IV which is even further ahead than the Energizer which is incorrectly plotted below the 1.6 graph line. The institute that so poorly put these batteries into a comparison can't draw a graph either. And what about cost?
Oh and another thing. I have had cheap generic batteries leak occasionally. It is very rare that name brands leak on me. I trust the brand name batteries in my expensive electronics that I do not want to melt more than generics.
Under load, these should all be reduced, but the lithium more so.
Also, the bottom of the graph not being zero grossly distorts the differences between the batteries.
I've had terrible luck with Energizer batteries though - they have a tendency to explode after not all that long. I prefer Duracell for that reason (rechargeable or non).
I'm with funstraw. I think this comparison is unhelpful without a price comparison. Which battery gives you the most bang for your buck?