Here’s How Your Charger Slowly Deteriorates Your Smartphone’s Battery Life
WMG researchers at the University of Warwick have found out that inductive charging using LIBs or Lithium-ion batteries diminish the battery life of smartphones.
Gone are the days when phone chargers were made up of cables and wires. Now, consumers can enjoy the convenience of simply placing their phones on top of a charging base. This hype begun in 2018 and up until today, we enjoy the convenience of this state-of-the-art charging method.
Why is Inductive Charging Harmful for your Phone?
Inductive charging transmits power source using the air gap between the phone and the base without utilizing a cable. However, despite this advantage, inductive charging imposes a threat to smartphones because it releases harmful excess heat. This unwanted heat generates in the charging base and the smartphone, allowing heat exchange between both devices. What makes it worse is that both devices have physical contact which makes heat transfer dangerous since it depletes the lifespan of the phone’s battery.
In addition to this, WMG researchers performed experiments to determine the difference in the temperature level between inductive charging and wire charging. They tested three charging techniques including wire charging, misaligned inductive charging and aligned inductive charging. The researchers keep track of the temperature maps for each of the charging technique to find out the amount of heat they generate. Regardless of the method of charging, the right area of the phone exhibits dramatic increase in temperature compared to the remaining areas of the phone. It remained higher all throughout the charging time. But what caught the interest of the researcher was the increase in the heat generation and decrease in energy efficiency when the phone was misaligned to the base during inductive charging.
Power Input and Charging Temperatures
This prominent discovery in the experiment shows extreme power input to the charging base when it is misaligned compared when it is aligned. This is because inductive charging heightens the power of the transmitter during misalignment in order to maintain input power to the phone.
Aside from that, the charging base has a maximum temperature average of 35.3°C when it is misaligned. It is two degrees higher compared to the temperature of the phone when it is properly aligned to the charging base which is 33°C. This is an alarming statistic because it contributes to the deterioration of the battery of the phone. The researchers are aware of this harmful effect and they are developing new approaches to alter the damaging results of inductive charging. The use of ultra-thin coils and higher level of frequencies can alleviate the impact of heat and maintain the battery life of smartphones. ConclusionInductive charging can diminish the lifespan of your mobile phones’ battery and researchers have proven it. For someone who uses inductive charging since they don’t want inconvenience when charging their phone, this piece of information is difficult to accept. But if you want to maintain the longest life of your phone, better think about your charging method and stick to wire charging.