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A battery charger, recharger, or simply charger is a device that stores energy in a
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
by running an
electric current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The moving pa ...
through it. The charging protocol (how much
voltage Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...
or
current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...
for how long, and what to do when charging is complete) depends on the size and type of the battery being charged. Some battery types have high tolerance for overcharging (i.e., continued charging after the battery has been fully charged) and can be recharged by connection to a constant voltage source or a constant current source, depending on battery type. Simple chargers of this type must be manually disconnected at the end of the charge cycle. Other battery types use a timer to cut off when charging should be complete. Other battery types cannot withstand over-charging, becoming damaged (reduced capacity, reduced lifetime), over heating or even exploding. The charger may have temperature or voltage sensing circuits and a microprocessor controller to safely adjust the charging current and voltage, determine the
state of charge State of charge (SoC) is the level of charge of an electric battery relative to its capacity. The units of SoC are percentage points (0% = empty; 100% = full). An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), the inverse ...
, and cut off at the end of charge. Chargers may elevate the output voltage proportionally with current to compensate for impedance in the wires. A trickle charger provides a relatively small amount of current, only enough to counteract self-discharge of a battery that is idle for a long time. Some battery types cannot tolerate trickle charging; attempts to do so may result in damage.
Lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
cannot handle indefinite trickle charging. Slow battery chargers may take several hours to complete a charge. High-rate chargers may restore most capacity much faster, but high rate chargers can be more than some battery types can tolerate. Such batteries require active monitoring of the battery to protect it from overcharging.
Electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s ideally need high-rate chargers. For public access, installation of such chargers and the distribution support for them is an issue in the proposed adoption of electric cars.


C-rate

Charge and discharge rates are often given as ''C'' or ''C-rate'', which is a measure of the rate at which a battery is charged or discharged relative to its capacity. The C-rate is defined as the charge or discharge current divided by the battery's capacity to store an electrical charge. While rarely stated explicitly, the unit of the C-rate is h−1, equivalent to stating the battery's capacity to store an electrical charge in unit hour times current in the same unit as the charge or discharge current. The C-rate is never negative, so whether it describes a charging or discharging process depends on the context. For example, for a battery with a capacity of 500 mAh, a discharge rate of 5000 mA (i.e., 5 A) corresponds to a C-rate of 10C, meaning that such a current can discharge 10 such batteries in one hour. Likewise, for the same battery a charge current of 250 mA corresponds to a C-rate of C/2, meaning that this current will increase the state of charge of this battery by 50% in one hour. Since the unit of the C-rate is typically implied, some care is required when using it to avoid confusing it with the battery's capacity to store a charge, which in the SI has unit
coulomb The coulomb (symbol: C) is the unit of electric charge in the International System of Units (SI). In the present version of the SI it is equal to the electric charge delivered by a 1 ampere constant current in 1 second and to elementary char ...
with unit symbol ''C''. If both the (dis)charge current and the battery capacity in the C-rate ratio is multiplied by the battery voltage, the C-rate becomes a ratio of the (dis)charge power to the battery's energy capacity. For example, when the 100 kWh battery in a
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
P100D is undergoing
supercharging In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induc ...
at 120 kW the C-rate is 1.2C and when that battery delivers its maximum power of 451 kW, its C-rate is 4.51C. All charging and discharging of batteries generates internal heat, and the amount of heat generated is roughly proportional to the current involved (a battery's current state of charge, condition / history, etc. are also factors). As some batteries reach their full charge, cooling may also be observed. Battery cells which have been built to allow higher C-rates than usual must make provision for increased heating. But high C-ratings are attractive to end users because such batteries can be charged more quickly, and produce higher current output in use. High C-rates typically require the charger to carefully monitor battery parameters such as terminal voltage and temperature to prevent overcharging and so damage to the cells. Such high charging rates are possible only with some battery types. Others will be damaged or possibly overheat or catch fire. Some batteries may even explode. For example, an automobile SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) lead-acid battery carries several risks of explosion.


Type


Simple charger

A simple charger works by supplying a constant DC or
pulsed DC Pulsed DC (PDC) or pulsating direct current is a periodic current which changes in value but never changes direction. Some authors use the term pulsed DC to describe a signal consisting of one or more rectangular ("flat-topped"), rather than sinus ...
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
source to a battery being charged. A simple charger typically does not alter its output based on charging time or the charge on the battery. This simplicity means that a simple charger is inexpensive, but there are tradeoffs. Typically, a carefully designed simple charger takes longer to charge a battery because it is set to use a lower (i.e., safer) charging rate. Even so, many batteries left on a simple charger for too long will be weakened or destroyed due to over-charging. These chargers also vary in that they can supply either a constant voltage or a constant current, to the battery. Simple AC-powered battery chargers usually have much higher ripple current and ripple voltage than other kinds of battery chargers because they are inexpensively designed and built. Generally, when the ripple current is within a battery's manufacturer recommended level, the ripple voltage will also be well within the recommended level. The maximum ripple current for a typical 12V 100Ah
VRLA battery A valve regulated lead–acid (VRLA) battery, commonly known as a sealed lead–acid (SLA) battery, is a type of lead–acid battery characterized by a limited amount of electrolyte ("starved" electrolyte) absorbed in a plate separator or formed ...
is 5 amps. As long as the ripple current is not excessive (more than 3 to 4 times the battery manufacturer recommended level), the expected life of a ripple-charged VRLA battery will be within 3% of the life of a constant DC-charged battery.


Fast charger

Fast chargers make use of control circuitry to rapidly charge the batteries without damaging any of the cells in the battery. The control circuitry can be built into the battery (generally for each cell) or in the external charging unit, or split between both. Most such chargers have a cooling fan to help keep the temperature of the cells at safe levels. Most fast chargers are also capable of acting as standard overnight chargers if used with standard NiMH cells that do not have the special control circuitry.


Three stage charger

To accelerate the charging time and provide continuous charging, an intelligent charger attempts to detect the state of charge and condition of the battery and applies a 3-stage charging scheme. The following description assumes a sealed lead acid traction battery at 25°C. The first stage is referred to as "bulk absorption"; the charging current will be held high and constant and is limited by the capacity of the charger. When the voltage on the battery reaches its outgassing voltage (2.22 volts per cell) the charger switches to the second stage and the voltage is held constant (2.40 volts per cell). The delivered current will decline at the maintained voltage, and when the current reaches less than 0.005C the charger enters its third stage and the charger output will be held constant at 2.25 volts per cell. In the third stage, the charging current is very small 0.005C and at this voltage the battery can be maintained at full charge and compensate for self-discharge.


Induction-powered charger

Inductive battery chargers use
electromagnetic induction Electromagnetic or magnetic induction is the production of an electromotive force (emf) across an electrical conductor in a changing magnetic field. Michael Faraday is generally credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, and James Clerk ...
to charge batteries. A charging station sends electromagnetic energy through inductive coupling to an electrical device, which stores the energy in the batteries. This is achieved without the need for metal contacts between the charger and the battery. Inductive battery chargers are commonly used in
electric toothbrush An electric toothbrush is a toothbrush that makes rapid automatic bristle motions, either back-and-forth oscillation or rotation-oscillation (where the brush head alternates clockwise and counterclockwise rotation), in order to clean teeth. Motio ...
es and other devices used in bathrooms. Because there are no open electrical contacts, there is no risk of electrocution. Nowadays it is being used to charge wireless phones.


Smart charger

A
smart charger A smart battery or a smart battery pack is a rechargeable battery pack with a built-in battery management system (BMS), usually designed for use in a portable computer such as a laptop. In addition to the usual positive and negative terminal ...
can respond to the condition of a battery and modify its charging parameters accordingly, whereas "dumb" chargers apply a steady voltage, possibly through a fixed resistance. It should not be confused with a
smart battery A smart battery or a smart battery pack is a rechargeable battery pack with a built-in battery management system (BMS), usually designed for use in a portable computer such as a laptop. In addition to the usual positive and negative terminal ...
that contains a
computer chip An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
and communicates digitally with a
smart charger A smart battery or a smart battery pack is a rechargeable battery pack with a built-in battery management system (BMS), usually designed for use in a portable computer such as a laptop. In addition to the usual positive and negative terminal ...
about battery condition. A smart battery requires a smart charger (see
Smart Battery Data A smart battery or a smart battery pack is a rechargeable battery pack with a built-in battery management system (BMS), usually designed for use in a portable computer such as a laptop. In addition to the usual positive and negative terminals, ...
). Some smart chargers can also charge "dumb" batteries, which lack any internal electronics. The output current of a smart charger depends upon the battery's state. An intelligent charger may monitor the battery's voltage, temperature or charge time to determine the optimum charge current or terminate charging. For Ni-Cd and
NiMH NIMH may refer to: *Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH), a type of electrical battery *National Institute of Mental Health, an agency of the United States government *National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a professional organisation in the Un ...
batteries, the voltage of the battery increases slowly during the charging process, until the battery is fully charged. After that, the voltage ''decreases'', which indicates to an intelligent charger that the battery is fully charged. Such chargers are often labeled as a ΔV, "delta-V," or sometimes "delta peak" charger, indicating that they monitor voltage change. This can cause even an intelligent charger not to sense that the batteries are already fully charged, and continue charging. Overcharging of the batteries may result. Many intelligent chargers employ a variety of cut-off systems to prevent overcharging. A typical smart charger fast-charges a battery up to about 85% of its maximum capacity in less than an hour, then switches to trickle charging, which takes several hours to top off the battery to its full capacity.


Motion-powered charger

Several companies have begun making devices that charge batteries using energy from human motion, such as walking. An example, made by Tremont Electric, consists of a magnet held between two springs that can charge a battery as the device is moved up and down. Such products have not yet achieved significant commercial success. A pedal-powered charger for mobile phones fitted into desks has been created for installation in public spaces, such as airports, railway stations and universities. They have been installed in a number of countries on several continents.


Pulse charger

Some chargers use ''pulse technology'', in which a series of electrical pulses is fed to the
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
. The DC pulses have a strictly controlled
rise time In electronics, when describing a voltage or current step function, rise time is the time taken by a signal to change from a specified low value to a specified high value. These values may be expressed as ratiosSee for example , and . or, equivale ...
, pulse width, pulse repetition rate (
frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
) and
amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of amplit ...
. This technology works with any size and type of battery, including automotive and valve-regulated ones. With pulse charging, high instantaneous voltages are applied without overheating the battery. In a
Lead–acid battery The lead–acid battery is a type of rechargeable battery first invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté. It is the first type of rechargeable battery ever created. Compared to modern rechargeable batteries, lead–acid batteries have ...
, this breaks down lead-sulfate crystals, thus greatly extending the battery service life. Several kinds of pulse chargers are patented. Others are
open source hardware Open-source hardware (OSH) consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open-design movement. Both free and open-source software (FOSS) and open-source hardware are created by this open-source culture movement and ...
. Some chargers use pulses to check the current battery state when the charger is first connected, then use constant current charging during fast charge, then use pulse mode to trickle charge it. Some chargers use "negative pulse charging," also called "reflex charging" or "burp charging." These chargers use both positive and brief negative current pulses. There is no significant evidence that negative pulse charging is more effective than ordinary pulse charging.


Solar charger

Solar chargers convert light energy into low voltage
DC current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
. They are generally
portable Portable may refer to: General * Portable building, a manufactured structure that is built off site and moved in upon completion of site and utility work * Portable classroom, a temporary building installed on the grounds of a school to provide a ...
, but can also be fixed mounted. Fixed mount solar chargers are also known as
solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...
. These are often connected to the electrical grid via control and interface circuits, whereas portable solar chargers are used off-grid (i.e.
cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
,
boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...
, or
RVs A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
). Although portable solar chargers obtain energy only from the sun, they some can charge in low light like at sunset). Portable solar chargers are often used for
trickle charging Trickle charging means charging a fully charged battery at a rate equal to its self-discharge rate, thus enabling the battery to remain at its fully charged level; this state occurs almost exclusively when the battery is not loaded, as trickle cha ...
, though some can completely recharge batteries.


Timer-based charger

The output of a
timer A timer is a specialized type of clock used for measuring specific time intervals. Timers can be categorized into two main types. The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices th ...
charger is terminated after a predetermined time interval. Timer chargers were the most common type for high-capacity Ni-Cd cells in the late 1990s to charge low-capacity consumer Ni-Cd cells. Often a timer charger and set of batteries could be bought as a bundle and the charger time is set for those batteries specifically. If batteries of lower capacity are charged, then they would be overcharged, and if batteries of higher capacity were timer-charged, they would not reach full capacity. Timer based chargers also had the drawback that charging batteries that were not fully discharged would result in over-charging.


Trickle charger

A trickle charger is typically low-current (usually between 5–1,500 mA). They are generally used to charge small capacity batteries (2–30 Ah). They are also used to maintain larger capacity batteries (> 30 Ah) in cars and boats. In larger applications, the current of the battery charger is only sufficient to provide trickle current. Depending on the technology of the trickle charger, it can be left connected to the battery indefinitely. Some battery types are not suitable for trickle charging. For instance, most Li-ion batteries cannot be safely trickle charged and can cause a fire or explosion.


Universal battery charger–analyzer

The most sophisticated chargers are used in critical applications (e.g. military or aviation batteries). These heavy-duty automatic “intelligent charging” systems can be programmed with complex charging cycles specified by the battery manufacturer. The best are universal (i.e. can charge all battery types), and include automatic capacity testing and analyzing functions.


USB-based charger

Since the
Universal Serial Bus Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
specification provides five-volt power, it is possible to use a
USB cable Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an technical standard, industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and communication protocol, protocols for connection, communication and power supply (Interface (computing), interfa ...
to connect a device to a power supply. Products based on this approach include chargers for
cellular phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while ...
s, portable
digital audio players Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
, and
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s. They may be fully compliant USB peripheral devices or uncontrolled, simple chargers.


Power bank

A power or battery bank is a portable device that can supply energy and power from its built-in battery, typically through a USB port. Power banks have various sizes and typically contain 18650 battery cells. The smallest power banks have a single cell. Moderately sized ones for mobile phones usually have few cells in a
parallel circuit Terminal (electronics), Two-terminal components and electrical networks can be connected in series or parallel. The resulting electrical network will have two terminals, and itself can participate in a series or parallel Topology (electrical cir ...
, and large ones additionally in two
series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...
. The power bank's real meaning is polymer lithium batteries as a storage unit. The power bank is a lithium battery polymer storage device, through the IC chip for voltage regulation and then by connecting the power line charging or storage and then can be stored electricity released; power bank in the market is still relatively rare more is the standby battery mix called charge bank. Power banks are popular for charging smaller battery-powered devices with USB ports such as
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s and
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s and can be used as a power supply for various USB-powered accessories such as lights, small fans and external
digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...
battery chargers. They usually recharge with a
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
power supply. More recent power banks use
USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...
and may feature an additional USB-B micro port for
backwards compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially in ...
. The power bank includes a control circuit that both regulates charging of the battery and converts the battery voltage to 5.0 volts for the USB port. Power banks may be able to detect a connection and power on automatically. If the current load is under a model-specific threshold for a specific duration, a power bank may power down automatically. Charging state is typically indicated through four
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
lamps for each quartal, whereas some higher-end models feature an exact percentage display. Some power banks are able to deliver power wirelessly, some are equipped with an LED
flashlight A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...
for casual near-distance illumination when necessary, and some have a ''pass-through charging'' feature which allows providing power through their USB ports while being charged themselves simultaneously''.'' Some larger power banks have
DC connector A DC connector (or DC plug, for one common type of connector) is an electrical connector for supplying direct current (DC) power. Compared to domestic AC power plugs and sockets, DC connectors have many more standard types that are not interchan ...
s (or ''barrel connectors'') for higher power demands such as
laptop computers A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
.


Battery cases

Battery cases are small power banks attached to the rear side of a mobile phone like a case. Power may be delivered through the USB charging ports, or wirelessly. Battery cases also exist in the form of a camera grip accessory, as was for the Nokia Lumia 1020. For mobile phones with removable rear cover, ''extended batteries'' exist. These are larger internal batteries attached with a dedicated, more spacious rear cover replacing the default one. A disadvantage is incompatibility with other phone cases while attached.


Applications

Since a battery charger is intended to be connected to a battery, it may not have voltage regulation or filtering of the DC voltage output; it is cheaper to make them that way. Battery chargers equipped with both voltage regulation and filtering are sometimes termed
battery eliminator A battery eliminator is a device powered by an electrical source other than a battery, which then converts the source to a suitable DC voltage that may be used by a second device designed to be powered by batteries. A battery eliminator does awa ...
s.


Battery charger for vehicles

There are two main types of chargers used for vehicles: * To recharge a fuel vehicle's starter battery, where a modular charger is used; typically an 3-stage charger. * To recharge an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack; see
Charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
. Chargers for car batteries come in varying ratings. Chargers that are rated up to two amperes may be used to maintain charge on parked vehicle batteries or for small batteries on garden tractors or similar equipment. A motorist may keep a charger rated a few amperes to ten or fifteen amperes for maintenance of automobile batteries or to recharge a vehicle battery that has accidentally discharged. Service stations and commercial garages will have a large charger to fully charge a battery in an hour or two; often these chargers can briefly source the hundreds of amperes required to crank an internal combustion engine starter.


Electric vehicle batteries

Electric vehicle battery chargers (ECS) come in a variety of brands and characteristics. These chargers vary from 1 kW to 7.5 kW maximum charge rate. Some use algorithm charge curves, others use constant voltage, constant current. Some are programmable by the end user through a CAN port, some have dials for maximum voltage and amperage, some are preset to specified battery pack voltage, amp-hour and chemistry. Prices range from $400 to $4500. A 10 amp-hour battery could take 15 hours to reach a fully charged state from a fully discharged condition with a 1 amp charger as it would require roughly 1.5 times the battery's capacity. Public EV
charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
s provide 6 kW (host power of 208 to 240 VAC off a 40 amp circuit). 6 kW will recharge an EV roughly 6 times faster than 1 kW overnight charging. Rapid charging results in even faster recharge times and is limited only by available AC power, battery type, and the type of charging system. Onboard EV chargers (change AC power to DC power to recharge the EV's pack) can be: * Isolated: they make no physical connection between the A/C electrical mains and the batteries being charged. These typically employ some form of inductive connection between the grid and a charging vehicle. Some isolated chargers may be used in parallel. This allows for an increased charge current and reduced charging times. The battery has a maximum current rating that cannot be exceeded * Non-isolated: the battery charger has a direct electrical connection to the A/C outlet's wiring. Non-isolated chargers cannot be used in parallel.
Power-factor correction In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the '' real power'' absorbed by the load to the ''apparent power'' flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of v ...
(PFC) chargers can more closely approach the maximum current the plug can deliver, shortening charging time.


Charge stations

Project Better Place was deploying a network of charging stations and subsidizing vehicle battery costs through
leases A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
and credits until filing for bankruptcy in May 2013.


Induction-powered charging

Researchers at the
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, researc ...
(KAIST) have developed an electric transport system, called Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), where the vehicles get their power needs from cables underneath the surface of the road via inductive charging, a power source is placed underneath the road surface and power is wirelessly picked up on the vehicle itself.


Mobile phone charger

Most
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
chargers are not really chargers, only
power adapter An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...
s that provide a power source for the charging circuitry which is almost always contained within the mobile phone. Older ones are notoriously diverse, having a wide variety of
DC connector A DC connector (or DC plug, for one common type of connector) is an electrical connector for supplying direct current (DC) power. Compared to domestic AC power plugs and sockets, DC connectors have many more standard types that are not interchan ...
-styles and voltages, most of which are not compatible with other manufacturers' phones or even different models of phones from a single manufacturer. Some higher-end models feature multiple ports are equipped with a display which indicates output current. Some support
communication protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any kind of variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics (computer scien ...
s for charging parameters such as
Qualcomm Quick Charge Quick Charge (QC) is a proprietary battery charging protocol developed by Qualcomm, used for managing power delivered over USB, mainly by communicating to the power supply and negotiating a voltage. Quick Charge is supported by devices such as ...
or MediaTek Pump Express. Chargers for 12V
automobile auxiliary power outlet An automobile auxiliary power outlet (also known as car cigarette lighter or auxiliary power outlet) in an automobile was initially designed to power an electrically heated cigarette lighter,LifeWire.com article''“From Car Cigarette Lighter ...
s may support input voltages of up to 24 or 32V DC to ensure compatibility, and are sometimes equipped with a display to monitor current or the voltage of the vehicle's electrical system. China, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and other countries are making a national standard on mobile phone chargers using the
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
standard. In June 2009, 10 of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop specifications for and support a
microUSB The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...
-equipped common external power supply (EPS) for all data-enabled mobile phones sold in the EU. On October 22, 2009, the
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
announced that microUSB would be the standard for a universal charger for mobile handsets.


Stationary battery plants

Telecommunications, electric power, and computer
uninterruptible power supply An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system ...
facilities may have very large standby battery banks (installed in
battery room A battery room is a room that houses batteries for backup or uninterruptible power systems. The rooms are found in telecommunication central offices, and provide standby power for computing equipment in datacenters. Batteries provide direct cu ...
s) to maintain critical loads for several hours during interruptions of primary grid power. Such chargers are permanently installed and equipped with temperature compensation, supervisory alarms for various system faults, and often redundant independent power supplies and redundant rectifier systems. Chargers for stationary battery plants may have adequate voltage regulation and filtration and sufficient current capacity to allow the battery to be disconnected for maintenance, while the charger supplies the
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
(DC) system load. The capacity of the charger is specified to maintain the system load and recharge a completely discharged battery within, say, 8 hours or other intervals.


Prolonging battery life

A properly designed charger can allow batteries to reach their full cycle life.Excess charging current, lengthy overcharging, or cell reversal in a multiple cell pack cause damage to cells and limit the life expectancy of a battery. Most modern
cell phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s,
laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
and
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s, and most electric vehicles use
Lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...
batteries. These batteries last longest if the battery is frequently charged; fully discharging the cells will degrade their capacity relatively quickly, but most such batteries are used in equipment which can sense the approach of full discharge and discontinue equipment use. When stored after charging, lithium battery cells degrade more while fully charged than if they are only 40-50% charged. As with all battery types, degradation also occurs faster at higher temperatures. Degradation in
lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...
batteries is caused by an increased internal battery resistance often due to the cell
oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
. This decreases the efficiency of the battery, resulting in less net current available to be drawn from the battery. However, if Li-ION cells are discharged below a certain voltage a chemical reaction occurs that make them dangerous if recharged, which is why many such batteries in consumer goods now have an "electronic fuse" that permanently disables them if the voltage falls below a set level. The electronic fuse circuitry draws a small amount of current from the battery, which means that if a laptop battery is left for a long time without charging it, and with a very low initial
state of charge State of charge (SoC) is the level of charge of an electric battery relative to its capacity. The units of SoC are percentage points (0% = empty; 100% = full). An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), the inverse ...
, the battery may be permanently destroyed. Motor vehicles, such as boats, RVs, ATVs, motorcycles, cars, trucks, etc. have used lead–acid batteries. These batteries employ a
sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
electrolyte An electrolyte is a medium containing ions that is electrically conducting through the movement of those ions, but not conducting electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. Upon dis ...
and can generally be charged and discharged without exhibiting memory effect, though
sulfation Sulfation is the chemical reaction that entails the addition of SO3 group. In principle, many sulfations would involve reactions of sulfur trioxide (SO3). In practice, most sulfations are effected less directly. Regardless of the mechanism, the ...
(a chemical reaction in the battery which deposits a layer of sulfates on the lead) will occur over time. Typically sulfated batteries are simply replaced with new batteries, and the old ones recycled. Lead–acid batteries will experience substantially longer life when a maintenance charger is used to "float charge" the battery. This prevents the battery from ever being below 100% charge, preventing sulfate from forming. Proper temperature compensated
float voltage Float voltage is the voltage at which a battery is maintained after being fully charged to maintain that capacity by compensating for self-discharge of the battery. The voltage could be held constant for the entire duration of the cell's operation ( ...
should be used to achieve the best results.


See also

*
Automotive alternator An alternator is a type of electric generator used in modern automobiles to charge the battery and to power the electrical system when its engine is running. Until the 1960s, automobiles used DC dynamo generators with commutators. As silicon-d ...
– battery charging device in car * Electric bus#Charging *
Battery eliminator A battery eliminator is a device powered by an electrical source other than a battery, which then converts the source to a suitable DC voltage that may be used by a second device designed to be powered by batteries. A battery eliminator does awa ...
* Battery management system *
Charge controller A charge controller, charge regulator or battery regulator limits the rate at which electric current is added to or drawn from electric batteries to protect against electrical overload, overcharging, and may protect against overvoltage.
* FuelRod – a kiosk-based charging service *
Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
*
Rechargeable alkaline battery A rechargeable alkaline battery, also known as alkaline rechargeable or rechargeable alkaline manganese (RAM), is a type of alkaline battery that is capable of recharging for repeated use. The first generation rechargeable alkaline batteries were ...
*
Solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
*
Solar lamp A solar lamp, also known as a solar light or solar lantern, is a lighting system composed of an LED lamp, solar panels, battery, charge controller and there may also be an inverter. The lamp operates on electricity from batteries, charged throug ...
*
State of charge State of charge (SoC) is the level of charge of an electric battery relative to its capacity. The units of SoC are percentage points (0% = empty; 100% = full). An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), the inverse ...
(batteries)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battery Charger Battery charging Rechargeable batteries Energy conversion