
This adapter set from Eneloop is a great option for anyone interested in doing this.The first thing to note when looking to buy AA batteries is just how many different sorts you’ll find on sale from a wide range of manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. All you have to do is pop them into an appropriately-sized adapter and you’re in business. They can also be used to power devices that require C- and D-size batteries, too. Other Sizes and Adapters: We focused on rechargeable AA batteries for this guide as they are, by far, the most commonly used battery size. This is defined in a standard called IEC 61951-2.

Manufacturers offer a cycle life, a number of cycles that the battery can go through before it loses a certain amount of its capacity. All batteries lose capacity when used, meaning that they can store a little less charge with each cycle.
Rechargeable aa batteries full#
1 mAh is a flow of one milliamp over an hour, so a 2500 mAh battery can deliver 2500 milliamps (or 2.5 Amps) for one hour, or 250 milliamps for 10 hours.Ĭycles or Recharge Life: Each full charge and discharge is one battery cycle. A measure of the amount of charge that can be stored in a battery. Some brands minimize this with extra insulation inside the battery.

Typically, a NiMH battery will lose up to half its charge if stored for a year. All batteries lose a certain amount of charge over time, even when they are not connected to anything. You should never use a NiMH battery (like the ones in this guide) with a non-NiMH charger, as this can damage them. When the battery is used, this is reversed, creating a flow of electric charge out of the battery.Ĭharger: the device that controls the flow of charge into a battery. When the battery is charged, the Nickel Oxide Hydroxide gives up a Hydrogen ion, which is absorbed by the alloy. One side of the battery is made of Nickel Oxide Hydroxide, and the other is made of an alloy of several rare earth metals. The chemistry inside the battery that stores the electrical charge. Here’s our guide to the terms you need to know to make an informed choice. Rechargeable batteries are pretty simple devices, but there’s a lot of jargon surrounding them. In instances where I had to step away from observing the test, I set up a GoPro camera to record the operation of the fans, just in case one stopped running before I got back. When the blades stopped turning, the time was noted and the test was stopped. Our flashlight was operated at maximum brightness-roughly 350 lumens-as we recorded how long it stayed lit. For these tests, we ran our fan at maximum speed, recording how long it kept rotating. To see how long the batteries in our test group would last, we used them to run two devices: a small battery-powered fan and a powerful flashlight.ĭrawing 0.6 and 1.4 Amps, respectively, these devices allowed us to measure how long each battery can run during low-drain and high-drain use.
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We tested AA batteries as these are the most commonly used size for modern electronics such as TV remotes, smart doorbells, and outdoor security cameras. So we tested them by doing just that, using two high-end rechargeable battery chargers (a La Crosse BC700-CBP and a SkyRC MC3000) to measure the amount of charge that each of the batteries could hold, testing four of each and averaging the result. The most important things about rechargeable batteries are how much charge they can hold and how quickly they can deliver it. And most people don’t need that many batteries anyway.Īll batteries were completely charged before testing began.

There are less expensive rechargeable AA batteries out there, but they come in packs of 12 at a minimum-which drives the price up. Each individual cell holds about 1,800 mAh of charge, so your devices won’t run for as long as they would with the Energizers or other higher-capacity batteries. Interestingly, Energizer lists the capacity of these batteries at 2,000 mAh, but we found them to hold even more in our real-world tests.įor a less expensive alternative, we recommend Amazon Basics Rechargeable Batteries. They provide the best balance of capacity and price, holding about 2,200 mAh of charge and supporting up to 1,000 charge cycles. So what are the best rechargeable batteries?Īfter hours of testing, the Energizer Recharge UniversalĮnded up being our top pick. Tired of throwing away money on alkaline batteries? Single-use batteries are cheaper upfront, but investing in a good set of rechargeable AA batteries that'll provide years of service in toys, flashlights, and TV remote controls will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Written by Richard Baguley and Séamus Bellamy
