Why buy an average battery when you can buy a “smart” battery?

Did you ever feel at the mercy of your battery?  Wishing it could speak to alert you to its state-of-charge (SoC) or its state-of-health (SoH)? The smart battery breaks this code of silence and actually communicates this information to its user!

An increasing number of today’s rechargeable batteries are “smart” in that they are equipped with a microchip, and able to communicate with the charger and the user. Typical applications for smart batteries are notebook computers and video cameras.

Here’s how they work: Most smart batteries are equipped with a charge level indicator.  When pressing the “test” button on a fully charged battery, all signal lights will illuminate. On a partially discharged battery, half the lights illuminate, and on an empty battery, all lights remain dark.

Like with anything, though; you get what you pay for. The smart battery costs about 25% more than its dumb equivalent, and the Level 3 charger that it requires costs more, too.  But smart choices are healthy choices, and always better in the long run, right?