The rechargeable battery

Batteries have come a long way and their evolution is remarkable. Ever since Alessandro Volta's first battery, the batteries have sustained a large array of changes. Batteries are used in a daily basis by everyone in every house and the two most commonly used ones are rechargeable and alkaline batteries.

Alkaline battery

The alkaline type is a one-time use battery, which means the battery is of no use when the charge is empty and it must be thrown away (in a environmental friendly way I hope). It's the least expensive one and the most used type. If you don't use a lot of batteries you can still use them as they are a lot cheaper than rechargeable ones but, as I said, this is IF you don't use many batteries. Besides, alkaline batteries where not meant to meet the requirements of high-power electronic devices of today. They will last longer if they are used with slow consuming devices. If you use these in a camera or a recorder, they will not last long. Therefore I suggest you switch to NimH rechargeable batteries soon.

The Rechargeable battery

This is the one I use all around the house. TV remotes, video game controllers and other small electronic devices all have NimH batteries. NimH stands for Nickel metal Hydrid. These batteries are available in different formats: AA, AAA, C, D, 9V you name it. For those of you who think alkaline batteries last longer than NimH batteries you are wrong. For example, when you buy a xbox controller they give you two energizer alkaline batteries. I never use them but one day my rechargeable batteries died and all my other ones had to be recharged so I took the alkaline ones. Usually, when I use the fully charged rechargeable ones, they can last between 10 to 12 hours of gaming without recharging them. Believe it or not, when I used the alkaline ones, they were dead after 10 to 12 hours also. Of course the lifetime of an alkaline battery can vary depending on what device they are used on.

Some people tell me rechargeable batteries can only be recharged a couple of times in their lifetime but they can be recharged a couple of hundred of times before they have to be thrown away. A couple of years ago, chargers took around 8 hours to charge the batteries but now we have new chargers that take only 15 minutes. Yes indeed they cost twice as much as alkaline batteries and you have to buy the charger (oh what else you must be asking yourself) but trust me, you will save money down the road with the NimH rechargeable ones!