Inductive charging is easy and convenient. However, there are always rumors that wireless charging damages the battery. What is it?
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Wireless charging harmful?
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Wireless charging is widespread on cell phones and smartwatches, and it is often standard on newer devices. No wonder: you save yourself the tiresome tangle of cables and cumbersome plugging around. But there are always warnings: Convenient charging would strain the battery and shorten its lifespan. Is that correct? We researched it for you.
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Inductive charging – this is how it works
Let’s start with the technology, which is quite impressive when it comes to contactless energy transmission. Manufacturers use the physical phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. In short: If an electrical conductor is moved in a certain way by a magnetic field, then an electrical voltage is created in the conductor, with which a current flow can be generated.
If you now want to say that nothing moves at all with inductive mobile phone charging, then you are absolutely right. However, the manufacturers use a clever trick here: instead of moving the conductor to generate electricity, you can also vary the magnetic field. And that’s exactly what happens with the help of a coil in the charging station. A coil is also installed in the smartphone and while the alternating current at the charging dock continuously changes the associated magnetic field, direct current is generated (induced) in the smartphone, which then flows into the battery. It’s just not particularly efficient.
And that brings us to the first disadvantages of this technology: Inductive charging usually takes longer than the classic version via cable, but it still consumes more power (although this charging option is becoming faster and faster and 50 to 100 watts are also possible wirelessly ). Some research suggests even bigger problems with the technology, but we’ll get to that. If you want to know exactly how inductive charging works, then you will find a detailed article on it here.
Inductive charging has clear advantages
Even skeptics have to concede a whole range of advantages to inductive charging:
Easy and comfortable:
The search for suitable charging cables is no longer necessary. This is convenient and saves users rummaging in the drawer for electronics. Put the device down – done.
High compatibility:
Devices from different manufacturers can usually be charged on the same inductive charging station.
Protection of housing and contact:
As is well known, where there is no planing, there are no chips. With inductive charging, we avoid wear and tear on the contacts of cables and mobile phones.
Seamless integration:
Those who value this can make inductive charging stations invisible and install them in furniture or in the car. Such charging stations are also ideal as service gifts in public places.
Disadvantages of inductive charging – waste of energy to battery damage
While the advantages of wireless charging can be summarized under the keyword convenience, the potential disadvantages are a bit more varied.
Convenient but inefficient:
Inductive charging consumes more energy, while the percentage points of the battery climb up more slowly. This means that the method performs worse at both ends of the calculation than the classic variant. A scientific analysis with verified values does not yet exist, but a few technology nerds have taken on the topic. Their result: on average, wireless charging consumes almost 50 percent more electricity than charging with a cable. In addition, there is a constant energy consumption of the charging station, even if there are no devices to be charged.
More heat also puts a strain on the battery:
The higher energy consumption leads directly to the second problem with inductive charging. After all, the additional energy consumed has to go somewhere if it doesn’t end up in the energy storage system. Poor efficiency leads above all to more waste heat and this is not unproblematic for the battery. Researchers at the University of Warwick took a close look at the wireless charging process and came to the conclusion that batteries can be affected.
On the one hand, high temperatures accelerate the chemical aging of the core component in general. On the other hand, there is the phenomenon that loss values and heat generation can increase significantly if the device to be charged is not optimally placed on the wireless charging station.
Double load is stress for the energy store:
Charging mobile devices while they’re still on (and I’m sure most of them do it that way) forces smartphones to store and consume energy at the same time. This is relatively unproblematic when charging with a cable, because the energy to be consumed is not drawn from the battery, but from the connected power source. However, it is completely different with inductive charging: Here the device has to use the battery, to which the charging voltage is already applied – and the battery sometimes works up a sweat.
Tips for protecting your device with inductive charging
If you don’t want to do without the convenience of wireless charging, you can minimize the negative effects on the battery with a few simple rules of conduct. With these tips you can make the contactless charging process as gentle as possible.
Avoid thick cases and metal shells:
The greater the distance to the charging station, the more inefficient the inductive process is. Even a few millimeters can make a difference. The temperature also rises when the cell phone is in a thick case while charging.
Place devices in the middle:
Of course, you don’t have to use a ruler to do this, but you should make sure that you place the charging device as centrally as possible on your inductive charging station.
Don’t “forget” your cell phone:
As soon as the battery is fully charged, you should remove the device from the charging station. Otherwise, new loading processes will be started again and again at short intervals. The battery feels most comfortable between 20 and 80 percent of its maximum capacity anyway. Beyond this window, chemical aging of the battery accelerates.
Do not bring any RFID systems or magnetic strips in the immediate vicinity:
They can disturb the magnetic field and hinder charging.
Turn off vibration alert:
If possible, switch off the vibrating alarm so that the device cannot slip away while charging. Otherwise loss values, temperatures and the charging time can increase.
Conclusion
Today’s lithium batteries have the problem that charging processes of all kinds make things difficult for them. The end of their service life is therefore inevitably accompanied by use: the core components can cope with around 500 (at Apple) up to 1600 charging cycles (at OnePlus) before the loss of capacity becomes noticeable. So you don’t have to advise against inductive charging, because even the classic charging cable doesn’t give the power storage device a wellness cure. Over a longer period of time, however, inductively charged batteries lose capacity more quickly than those that are conventionally charged. This is primarily due to a higher temperature load. Higher electricity costs also apply.
For most users, however, this deal is acceptable: In the long term, you pay for the convenience of charging with a (usually small) part of the battery life. If you want to be very economical and want to be particularly careful with your cell phone, the classic charging cable is the safest way. However, if you are careful with inductive charging and follow the rules mentioned above, you do not have to worry about your battery.
Nightly charging of mobile devices is much more problematic. You can make mistakes that put a lot more strain on the battery.