Chargie Basic Limits Heat-Related Stress On Electronic Devices

Republished By Plato

Followers: 0

We all want our electronic devices to charge as quickly as possible, and new technology standards are making our wishes come true. The new PD standard provides high speed charging with variable voltage up to 20V. According to ZDnet, it is capable of using intelligent device negotiation to charge at 5A and up to 100W.

That may be fine for a laptop computer, but it is not so fine for smaller batteries found in smartphones. Plus, their charging power isn’t anywhere near 100W. Anyway, charging at power levels higher than 10-15W on a constant basis can significantly reduce battery life. With some of today’s devices costing $1000 or more, shorter battery life can be expensive.

The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in electric cars are protected by elaborate cooling systems. A smartphone is basically a glass-enclosed slab with high processing power, but with no cooling system of its own. Inside a pocket or a hot car, it can get hot enough to degrade the performance of its battery. Subjecting it to high power charging under such conditions can put heat-related stress on the battery.

According to Ovidiu Sandru, the founder of Chargie, the fact that you can charge your phone or other internet-connected devices at 30, 50, or 65 watts (or more) is great for those who are on the go all day, but tough on the batteries in those devices. Even though many of them have internal software programs that limit charging speeds when internal temperatures get too high, those high power charging events can still degrade the battery significantly before those software protections kick in.

Meet the Chargie C Basic

Every time you fast-charge your phone, you may shave 10 to 15 minutes off your charging time, but you will lose much more capacity than you imagine, says Sandru — between 0.05 and 0.1%, actually. Multiply that times 365 or more charging events a year, and battery degradation can be substantial.

Chargie A Gold Edition. Image credit: Chargie.

The new Chargie C Basic is designed to address this issue by limiting charging power to no more than eight watts. The company says the effective charging time is only 20% slower for an iPhone or a phone with similar battery, but the lower temperatures inside will noticeably improve battery life.

Especially as the USB PD technology becomes available, the damage from charging too fast will become a greater issue. The Chargie C Basic does for phones and other devices what charging overnight does for electric cars. It provides all the power needed to start the new day without overheating the battery with a quick jolt of electricity. Fast charging is simply not needed when a device is not in use and has around 8 hours to charge, yet many new devices come with chargers capable of up to 40 to 65W of power, making it too easy to use fast charging every time — with a predictable loss of battery performance as a side effect.

At 8W, charging performance will not be significantly affected, your phone’s heating curve will be greatly reduced, and its battery lifespan will get extended beyond the manufacturers’ projected two years. Chargie C Basic (for phones) will continue to fast-charge using QC3 and QC4 chargers in order to remain compatible with older charging tech and phones.

In a comment to Chargie’s latest blog post, Mark Bray gives the company and its products a big thumbs up. “I have a Chargie and after the battery in my wife’s $1200 iPhone went bad after a little over a year, I convinced her to get a Chargie along with her new phone. We love our Chargies and use them constantly.”

The original Chargie allows users to customize their charging experience by limiting and delaying the charging process, for prolonged battery life. The new Chargie C Basic extends that ability to work with the latest generation of high power charging technology, whether from USB PD or Qualcomm QC. Convenience is one thing, but having to replace a device sooner than expected because of battery degradation can be expensive. The affordable Chargie C Basic is an inexpensive way to future-proof your smartphone and other portable devices so they last as long as possible.

Chargie A Gold Edition. Image credit: Chargie.

Here’s a preorder page for the new Chargie C Basic. You can read more about Chargie’s updated specs here. Get in line now and get a free USB-C to USB-C cable with the coupon code freecable for any of the bulk packs you order. Deliveries for the Chargie C Basic will start sometime in early December, the company says. Get your order in today so it arrives before the holidays!

This article is supported by Chargie.

Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality? Consider becoming a CleanTechnica Member, Supporter, Technician, or Ambassador — or a patron on Patreon.