RTLS For Dummies®

Chapter 18

Ten Best Ways to Use Batteries

In This Chapter

Knowing why batteries lose life

Understanding the differences among batteries

Getting rid of used batteries

Choosing battery packaging

Knowing what causes premature battery death

Reading the low-battery indicator

Making sure that safety comes first

Safeguarding batteries against unauthorized use

Knowing the best way to store batteries

Charging batteries properly

Batteries are the lifeblood of an RTLS. Unless you’re using passive tags (that have no battery), without batteries, the whole system shuts down.

The key types of batteries that you typically find in RTLS tags (and optionally, location sensors) are: Leclanché, alkaline, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lithium, silver oxide, zinc air, and nickel cadmium (NiCd). Some RTLS use primary (non-rechargeable) batteries, and others use secondary (rechargeable) batteries. This chapter describes ten important points to consider when using batteries for RTLS.

History of batteries

Some historians suggest that the earliest known batteries were invented over 2,000 years ago in Baghdad to electroplate silver on jewelry, and some believe that the Egyptians used batteries to electroplate antimony onto copper over 4,300 years ago. However, the key invention that formed the basis for modern battery technology was done by Alessandro Volta (for whom the volt is named) in 1800 in which he demonstrated that an electrical current is generated when metals and chemicals come into contact. And ...