Switching to rechargeable batteries makes a lot of sense when you consider their many benefits. In this day in age, when electronic devices are so widely used, it would make sense that more people trade in their disposable alkaline batteries for lithium-ion rechargeables. Yet most of us do not. Why?
Pale Blue Earth is a Salt Lake City company the manufactures and sells revolutionary USB rechargeable batteries in multiple form factors. They say there isn’t a single reason we struggle to make the switch. Indeed, they say there are five.
1. Higher Checkout Price
At the top of the list is a higher checkout price. In simple terms, a pack of lithium-ion batteries can be four to five times as much as a comparable pack of alkaline disposables. To a lot of consumers, this represents a level of sticker shock they just cannot overcome. What they fail to realize is that rechargeable batteries cost less in the long run.
A good lithium-ion rechargeable can be charged up to one thousand times. Even at five times the cost of a disposable battery, it pays for itself after the fourth or fifth charge. Any subsequent charges thereafter cost nothing.
2. Ignorance of Shelf Life
Next up is ignorance of the shelf-life rechargeable batteries typically offer. This is based on the knowledge that you can take an alkaline battery off the shelf 10 years after it was manufactured and it’s probably going to work. The same is not true for lithium-ion batteries. But even so, retailers do not sell rechargeable batteries that are so old. If you were to purchase and use lithium-on batteries regularly, shelf life wouldn’t be an issue.
3. Misunderstandings of Performance
Another reason we fail to make the switch to rechargeable batteries is a misunderstanding of their performance. NiCad and NiMH batteries do not offer the same kind of performance as alkaline cells. That’s why heavy use, like photography for example, is not recommended. Yet lithium-ion batteries are different. They do offer comparable performance. They work just as well in high demand devices as alkalines.
4. Ignorance Of Environmental Concerns
Some of us fail to embrace lithium-ion rechargeable batteries because we do not understand the environmental concerns that go with alkaline disposables. Millions of alkaline batteries are disposed of, worldwide, every year. Every one of them represents space taken up in a landfill. That’s a lot of space.
What we fail to consider is that making the switch to rechargeable batteries can reduce battery waste by a thousand times, assuming a single lithium-ion battery replaces one thousand or more disposable alkaline batteries. Imagine how many batteries we could keep out of landfills by switching over.
5. We Are Creatures of Habit
Finally, some of us don’t make the switch to rechargeable batteries for no other reason than the fact that change is not so easy. We get comfortable with the way we do things. We have always used disposable alkaline batteries; switching over requires doing something entirely new.
We human beings are creatures of habit. We get set in our ways. Unless something extraordinary causes us to rethink what we do, we tend to stick with the same habits year after year. That certainly is the case with batteries.
If you are a long-time alkaline battery user, would you consider switching to rechargeable lithium-ion cells? You will save money over many years of battery purchases. You will also help keep alkaline batteries out of landfills and reduce the need to manufacture so many batteries. Best of all, you will not suffer any performance issues for doing so.