Consumer Batteries

What Are the Best Rechargeable Batteries

If you are someone who is trying to avoid wire, another route you could take is loading up on rechargeable batteries. If you can train yourself to see this as an investment rather than an expense, you will cash in huge on the dividends over the years. Making this purchase is dependent on what the best rechargeable AA batteries are on the market and what the potential downsides are to each product.

Rechargeable batteries haven’t always been effective. They used to run out of juice early and were not reliable. The industry has evolved and now we can safely say that the batteries listed below can provide all the quality of disposable batteries while also being good for the environment.

The most important thing to understand when comparing battery ratings is that every battery faces a tradeoff between maximum capacity and number of effective charges. If the battery you purchase is capable of holding a high voltage in comparison with other batteries, then it will likely receive a fraction of the number of charges. This is usually fine as most batteries are capable of a minimum of 500 charges, which would amount to two charges a week for five years before you would ever hit that limit.

What Are the Leaders in the Industry?

The three products that stand out in the search for the best rechargeable AA batteries are:

Energizer Recharge Universel – These batteries have an average discharge of 1,888 mAh, which is phenomenal capacity for any rechargeable battery. The true value comes in the fact that they come at a lower price than most of the other products in the market. One potential downside comes in their performance deteriorating after approximately a year of use.
Eneloop Pro – This is the premium product in the market. You are paying extra to receive high quality. The average discharge is approximately 2,500 mAh, which is significantly higher than any of the competitors. The only downside to Eneloop Pros is that after 500 charges, they lose their effectiveness.
Imedion by Mahax – These batteries come slightly cheaper than Eneloops, and as a result have a lower discharge (2,400 mAh). This is the essentially the middle market choice as they are more between the cost of Energizers and Eneloops.

What Should Your Criteria Be?

Final considerations you should take before this investment are the cost and convenience of the battery charger, and stores that each battery is available at. Needing to buy an expensive charger cancels out the cost of a cheap rechargeable battery. But also, if you need to go to a specialty store rather than Walmart or Target every time you want more batteries that work with your charger, you’re going to lose your patience fast.

These three products stand out as being in different places on the cost vs. quality scale, but all deliver great performance in their own way. It really depends on you determining your exact needs and then making a smart investment from there. Regardless, after reading these battery ratings, you should have enough knowledge to acquire the batteries that will free you from unnecessary expenditures down the line.