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Batteries
Florida Energy Extension Service and Helen Helikson Whiffen
BATTERIES: POWER TO GO
How Many Things Do You Own Which Use Batteries?
- watch
- camera flash
- tape player
- motorized toy
- power drill
- remote control
- flashlight
- smoke alarm
- miniature vacuum
- calculator
- pager
- cordless phone
- kitchen cordless beater
- "walkabout" computer games
- others...
Operation
Batteries are warehouses of chemical energy. They consist of:
- two plates of unlike metal, called "electrodes,"
- a chemical (usually an acid) called an "electrolyte,"
- a container which holds it all together.
The electrolyte robs one of the metals of negative electrons and the other electrolyte of positive protons. When an energy load is connected between the terminals, an electric current flows.
The special thing about rechargeable batteries is that this chemical action can be inverted. This works like a video run in reverse: the various atoms "back up" to their original positions during the recharging process. After recharging, the electrolyte is ready to start robbing electrons and protons again.
$ Costs $
All batteries are not equal. Operating a "walkabout" tape player for five hours every week for a year can have a different economic and environmental impact depending upon which battery type is chosen. At a cost of $0.75 and a life of 14 hours per alkaline battery, $28.50 are spent on 38 AA batteries per year. At a cost of $0.50 and a life of 4.5 hours per carbon zinc (zinc chloride) heavy-duty battery, $58 are spent on 116 AA batteries per year.
To compare these costs to AA rechargeable batteries, the purchase price of the batteries and recharger need to be divided into annual costs because both can last for several years. Rechargeable batteries can be recharged 200 or more times, providing more than 900 hours of power. Since the "walkabout" tape player needs 260 hours of energy per year, one year's worth of wear on rechargeables consumes less than 30% or about one dollar's worth of the battery's life.
Typically, battery chargers recharge many years worth of batteries. Given a conservative 3-year, solar-powered charger life span, approximately five dollars' worth of the charger's life is consumed each year. So then, two AA rechargeable batteries, at $1.00 per year, plus the battery charger, at $5.00 per year equals an annual expense of $7.00.
Using rechargeables in one "walkabout" tape player, instead of alkalines or heavy duty batteries, can save $20 to $50 (Table 1
). It doesn't take many battery-powered items to push this annual savings into the hundreds of dollars.
Environmental Impact
Batteries are wonders of convenience: transportable energy. They are also mobile environmental concerns. Batteries contain toxic heavy metals like cadmium and mercury which, if
landfilled, can leach into the ground water or, if incinerated, can contribute toxic material to the air and incinerator ash.
If alkaline batteries are used to power the "walkabout" tape player, 38 AA batteries are thrown away every year. If heavy duty batteries are used, 116 cells are thrown away. If rechargeable batteries are used, less than one battery is thrown away (Table 1
).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that batteries accounted for approximately 50% of the 1800 tons of cadmium that entered the waste stream in 1986. In 1983, 753 tons of mercury were used in U.S. production of household batteries. Fortunately, battery mercury content is on the down turn. The U.S. battery industry estimated that it used about 130 tons of mercury1 in 1989, an 80% decrease in six years.
Several battery collection programs exist in the United States (New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Missouri, Washington, Minnesota). In the United States, collected batteries are sent to commercial processing facilities to remove both the valuable and the toxic materials. Used nickel/cadmium rechargeable batteries are marketed to facilities in Europe.
Conclusion
Batteries are a source of energy for many small appliances that we use daily. But, the fewer batteries in the trash the better it is for the environment. Use rechargeables and get your batteries to a recycling facility. Call your county solid waste recycling coordinator for the location of the nearest recycler. Efforts to promote recycling of batteries are encouraged.
SIMPLY SAVING
- Energy Efficient
- Economical
- Environmentally Sound
All batteries are not equal. Operating a "walkabout" tape player for five hours every week for a year can have a different economic and environmental impact depending upon which battery type is chosen. Alkaline batteries cost $30 and use 38 batteries; heavy duty batteries cost $60 and use 116 batteries; rechargeable batteries (plus
recharger) cost $7 and use 1/3 of the life of two batteries.
Batteries are wonders of convenience: transportable energy. They are also mobile environmental concerns. Batteries contain toxic heavy metals like cadmium and mercury. If batteries are
landfilled, these toxic chemicals could run into the ground water. If batteries are incinerated, these toxic chemicals could end up in the air.
Several battery collection programs exist in the United States. Processing facilities can remove the valuable and the toxic materials.
The fewer batteries in the trash the better. Use rechargeables and get your batteries to a recycling facility.
Simply Saving is written to be used by Cooperative Extension Service field faculty within their extension education programs as a newspaper or newsletter column. The body of E2 & E provides more in depth information on the subject. Please forward comments regarding writing style and topic to Helen Helikson Whiten
GNV::HJH, or (904) 392-8535.
Tables
Table 1.
Table 1. Cost of 2 AA Batteries Used 5 Hours Every Week for One Year.
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Cost Per Battery
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Battery Life
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Annual Cost
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Cost in Garbage
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Alkaline
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$ 0.75
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14 hours
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$ 28.50
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38 batteries
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Heavy Duty
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0.50
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4.5 hours
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58.00
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116 batteries
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Rechargeables
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3.00
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> 900 hours
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7.00
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< 1 battery
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(Charger)
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($15.00)
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References
1. Slightly less than the amount of mercury released directly into the air annually in emissions from exterior paints, which use mercury compounds to control mildew.
Facing America's Trash: What Next for Municipal Solid Waste? 1989. Congress of the United States Office of Technology Assessment. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325.
Exploring the World of Electricity, 4-H Education Materials.
Batteries: Disposable or Rechargeable? Consumer Reports November 1991, p. 720.
Footnotes
This document is the March 1992 issue of Energy Efficiency and Environmental News, the newsletter of the Florida Energy Extension Service, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: March 1992.
2. Florida Energy Extension Service, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110940, Gainesville, FL 32611-0940; Helen Helikson
Whiffen, Agricultural Energy Specialist 112 Rogers Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; (904) 392-8535; Suncom 622-8535; VAX,
GNV::HJH, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.
The Florida Energy Extension Service receives funding from the Florida Energy Office, Department of Community Affairs and is operated by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences through the Cooperative Extension Service. The information contained herein is the product of the Florida Energy Extension Service and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Florida Energy Office.
Florida Cooperative Extension Service / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences /
University of Florida / Christine Taylor Waddill, Dean
Disclaimer
The use of trade names in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific
information. UF/IFAS does not guarantee or warranty the products named, and references to
them in this publication does not signify our approval to the exclusion of other products of
suitable composition.
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