Long service life is paramount for one’s finances

Morten (left) and Christian Nyborg in ACTEC’s testing laboratory where a new climatic chamber provides a realistic view of battery performance during cyclical thermal and humidity conditions. This ensures the right choice of batteries and cells based on practical knowledge.

Read the entire article on ACTEC’s far-sighted design and testing of batteries in Aktuel Elektronik (page 10-11)

Batteries are vastly different, and two products that resemble each other on the outside can differ greatly in terms of practical use. Whereas a number of Far East manufacturers accept a level of quality that is ‘good enough’, Japanese manufacturers’ approach to the quality of batteries and cells is profoundly different – being both elitist and high calibre. In Japan, ‘good enough’ is definitely not ‘good enough’. It makes a lot of sense for many businesses to consider operational service life when choosing their batteries.

“We have an interesting example from a major Danish alarm company in which a range of components in each system were supplied by AA cells of undisclosed origin. The typical operational service life of the AA cells was two years. By switching to NiMH cells from Panasonic, of Japan, they could increase the functional service life of their alarm systems by replacing cells every eight to twelve years instead. Having to send your service technicians all over the country to replace batteries is a waste of time,” says Christian Nyborg, CEO, ACTEC.

The alarm company’s example is readily applicable to other sectors where resources can be freed up and focused on other customer-related tasks that are far more valuable than replacing batteries, such as installing new products or the next generation of devices. It also provides a ‘greener’ overall approach to more markets than wasting resources on frequent battery replacement.

“Why does it make sense to ACTEC to sell fewer batteries, one might ask? Because in reality, we don’t. The use of battery-powered solutions is booming, which means that our sales figures are rising. We also believe that our credibility is enhanced by helping customers maximise their batteries’ service life. It secures the cheapest solution for the customers in the long-term and we can give device designers, manufacturers, and general end-users of batteries deeper insight into parameters such as charging time, charging and discharging processes, as well as temperature-related factors. Our ability to document that we supply ideal solutions every time prompts our customers to return to us with their new projects,” explains Morten Nyborg, Product Manager, ACTEC.

ACTEC uses technologies such as thermography to show how cells and connections perform in the batteries. By testing the various chemicals and encapsulations under realistic conditions, it is possible to eliminate unpleasant surprises in the field when customers put batteries into operation in their applications. This gives customers a real-life assessment of the batteries to ensure that the battery solution they choose is not only the best, but costs the least in the long term, too.