"Lithium battery" is a type of battery that uses lithium metal or lithium alloy as the negative electrode material and uses non-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Lithium batteries can be roughly divided into two categories: lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries do not contain metallic lithium and are rechargeable. Nearly every gadget has one rechargeable battery, and you rely on its power for daily tasks.

How many charging cycles can you expect from a lithium battery? What factors influence the lifespan of the lithium-ion batteries? How to prolong lithium batteries?

Lifespan-500 Cycles

Most consumers have heard that the lifespan of a lithium battery is "500 times". After 500 charge and discharge times, the life of battery ends. In order to prolong the battery life, some people charge the battery when it is completely exhausted. Does this really prolong the battery life? the answer is wrong. The lifespan of a lithium battery is "500 times", which does not refer to the number of recharges, but a cycle of charge and discharge.

A charging cycle means the process of using all the power of the battery from full to empty, and then from empty to full. This is not the same as charging once. For example, a lithium battery used only half of its power on the first day, and then fully charged it. If it is still the case the next day, that is, use half of the charge and charge it twice. This can only be counted as one charging cycle, not two. Therefore, it may usually take several times to complete a cycle. Every time a charging cycle is completed, the battery capacity will decrease a bit. However, this reduction in power consumption is very small. High-quality batteries will still retain 80% of the original capacity after being charged for many cycles. Many lithium-powered products are still used as usual after two or three years.

The so-called 500 times means that the manufacturer has achieved about 625 charging times at a constant depth of discharge (such as 80%), reaching 500 charging cycles.

The correct statement: Lithium battery life is related to charging cycles, not related to the charging times.

The life of a lithium battery is generally 300 to 500 charging cycles. There is no fixed limit on the number of recharges for lithium batteries. The batteries from manufacturers can generally be charged and discharged at least 500 cycles, and the capacity remains above 80% of the initial capacity, and it can be used for 2 years once a day is charged. Usually, if the mobile phone battery is charged 1,000 times, the battery will be not durable severely.

Factors influence the lifespan of the lithium-ion batteries

Go for Cool

Extreme heat is the biggest enemy to the overall lifespan of Li-ion batteries. If the lithium battery is used in an environment above the specified operating temperature, that is, 35°C or higher, the power of the battery will continue to decrease, that is, the battery's power supply time will not be as long as usual. If the device is charged at such a temperature, the damage to the battery will be even greater. Even if the battery is stored in a hot environment, it will inevitably cause corresponding damage to the quality of the battery. Therefore, keeping the operating temperature as suitable as possible is a good way to extend the life of the lithium battery.

Avoid Full Discharges

Lithium ion doesn’t have memory. In fact, shallow charging and shallow charging are more beneficial for lithium batteries. Only when the product's power module is calibrated for lithium batteries, is it necessary to deep discharge and deep charge. Therefore, products powered by lithium batteries do not need to be constrained by the process. Everything is convenient and can be charged at any time without worrying about affecting life.

Often Use It

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of lithium-ion batteries, you need to use it frequently to keep the electrons in the lithium battery in a flowing state. If you don't use the lithium battery often, please remember to complete a charging cycle for the lithium battery every month and do a power calibration, that is, deep discharge and deep charge once.

How to prolong lithium batteries?

Maintenance Methods of Lithium-ion Batteries

Regarding the maintenance of lithium batteries, we can take mobile phone batteries as a typical example. Cell phone battery maintenance method:

1) It is fully charged each time to reduce the number of charging and increase the battery life.

2) There is no need to completely discharge the battery, usually when the battery is below 10%, it needs to be charged.

3) Use the original charger to charge, do not use the universal charger.

4) Do not use the mobile phone during the charging process.

5) Don't overcharge, stop charging after the battery is full.