In November 2005, battery users came across this term “Low Self Discharge Battery” when Sanyo released its latest invention with a bang. The invention’s name was LSD NiMH which was the first Low self discharge nickel-metal hydride battery crossed into the market. Better known as Eneloop, these low self discharge batteries subsequently impressed the other players in market as well and consequently the competition evolved. Other manufacturers also released their low self discharge products to give neck to neck fight to Sanyo’s eneloop. However, customers overall appreciated the concept of LSD batteries, intended to reduce the self-discharge and lengthens shelf life. Apart from Sanyo, brands that emerged with their low self discharge products are Fujicell, Varta, AccuPower, Rayovac, Yuasa, Panasonic, Gold Peak, Vapex, Uniross, Sony, Ansmann, NexCell, Duracell and Kodak.
Usually, the standard NiMH batteries loses half of their energy if stored at 20 °C but surprisingly, the low self discharge batteries retain 75% or 80% of their energy at the same temperature. Commonly, low self discharge cells are underlined as “pre-charged” or “ready to use” rechargeable. Connoisseurs and experts believe that these low self discharge batteries are apt for photography and high energy requirement applications for which the entire credit goes to their low self-discharge. That is why these products are purposely being used with remote controls, electrical clocks and other products of the similar nature.
These low self discharge batteries are generally compatible with standard chargers whilst they have lower capacities than higher capacity NiMH batteries. A normal NiMH battery is rated at 2 to 2.2 Ahrs compared to up to 2.8 Ahrs whereas an LSD battery is rated at 2.3 to 2.5 Ahrs reaching up to 2.3 Ahrs. If we talk about the brands, then some LDS battery brands assure more than 1000 charge cycles in comparison to the normal cells that merely offers 500 charge cycles.
Eneloop are Combination of NIMh and Alkaline Battery
The common sizes of general batteries are AAA and AA. That is why LSD batteries are available in these particular sizes. Brands like Varta, Accupower, Gold Peak, Vapex, Uniross, Ansmann and NexCell do offer 9v (PP3) LSD NiMH batteries that are rated between 150mAh and 250mAh. In contrast, low capacity batteries in C and D sizes are also obtainable from the market. To create these sizes, manufacturers insert AA batteries into larger cases. Predominantly, Re-wrapped Cs offers the capacity of 2 to 2.2 Ah whereas re-wrapped Ds also retains the capacity of 2 to 2.2 Ah when constructed on AA. However, the storage capacity of re-wraps is relatively limited but the price is almost same what you pay for the full capacity C and D batteries.
In 2009, LDS battery brands did certain modifications and developments in their LSD products. Varta, Ansmann and Rayovac increased the capacity of their batteries to roughly 2.3 Ah whereas Sanyo created new versions of eneloop with strong improvements in durability. According to Sanyo, their new product can be charged up to 1500 times and could retain its 75% capacity continuously for 3 years.