If you charge a mobile phone once a day, for example, the battery would last more than a year under ideal conditions. A typical charge or use cycle for a lithium-ion battery is 8 hours of use, 1 hour of charging and another 8 hours of use. No cooling period is needed. This allows the battery to be used continuously during a 24-hour shift, and idle time only occurs during short periods of specific charging.
This can occur during workers' meal breaks or between shift changes. Right now, most power tool manufacturers say they expect to get more than 1000 charge cycles with any given battery. That's equivalent to 2.7 years if you charge your package once a day, or 3.8 years if you only consider a 5-day week. Some manufacturers claim to have 2000 charging cycles, in which case you can double those numbers.
You can measure how long a lithium battery will last in different ways. The amount of time the battery provides energy is typically measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Then there's the amount of time it can be charged and recharged before its energy degrades significantly, which is normally measured in terms of years of use. The typical lifespan of a lithium battery is two to three years.
A good rule of thumb is that, once you can store only 70 to 80% of your original energy storage, the battery should be replaced. Like any other battery, lithium-ion batteries lose some of their capacity over time. Regular use and recharging affect battery components. Users should expect their batteries to have a lifespan of about 500 charge cycles.
Depending on the frequency of use, this usually lasts for two or three years. Frequently charging a lithium-ion battery before using most of its capacity can reduce its lifespan. This allows multi-shift teams to use lithium-ion battery energy for longer periods of time over the course of a day and charge the battery when convenient. Answering the life of lithium-ion batteries usually addresses the issue of replacement and ongoing costs.
In both lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, there are several factors that can influence battery life. While one of the strengths of lithium-ion batteries is the lack of cellular memory, you can still use up the maximum lifespan of the cells (and the package) by charging them more frequently than necessary. But on average, if you store your lithium batteries properly, you can expect them to last three to six years there. Transcontinental Advanced Coatings is proud to offer sustainable, high-performance product lines and solutions, including coatings and films for lithium-ion batteries.
Compared to lead-acid batteries of the past, lithium-ion batteries are truly superior in every way. In addition, the increased maintenance requirements of lead-acid batteries can also reduce their lifespan. When assessing whether the life of lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries is more suitable for a fleet, these are some of the main differences between the two. However, if properly cared for and used under appropriate conditions, lithium-ion batteries can last up to 3000 cycles.
For larger tools, such as zero-turn mowers and small vehicles, the transition involves moving from gas or lead-acid batteries to lithium-ion batteries.
