Is battery capacity or cycle life more important to you? A battery’s capacity is the amount of power it can hold. Whereas battery cycle life is the number of times we can recharge it, and still be happy with its performance. The short answer to the question is, the one that’s best depends on how you use the battery.
When Battery Capacity Might Matter More
We describe battery capacity as either watt-hours, or amp-hours depending on battery size. This information tells us how much electrical power it can deliver between recharges. Battery capacity is more important than cycle life if:
- Your phone, laptop, or electric vehicle battery must keep working longer between charges.
- Or, you don’t have space for a large / heavy battery for your drone or other device.
But there’s a catch, as there so often is in our world of batteries. Battery capacity can fade faster if we charge the battery fully, or drain it completely.
When Battery Cycle Life Is More Important
Battery cycle life tells you how long you can keep recharging a battery, before it goes flat too quickly. Battery cycle life matters more than capacity when:
- You charge and discharge a battery frequently because you use it for a heavy load.
- The battery is not easy to replace, and so it must keep working for as long as possible.
- You are more interested in reliability and predictable performance, than maximum power.
A lower-capacity battery with an excellent cycle life, can deliver more energy over its lifetime than a higher-capacity battery wearing out faster.
Things to Remember When Choosing Batteries
Battery performance depends on capacity, how deep we can discharge it, and how often we can recharge it. A smaller battery that lasts longer can deliver more energy, than a larger one with a shorter life.
Your ideal battery could be the one that balances battery capacity and cycle life, according to your needs, and the particular job at hand. There is no such thing as a perfect battery, so we usually end up with a compromise.
More Information
Towards Sustainable High Capacity Batteries
