Battery's primary application areas

Various types of batteries are in use around us.

■ General household use

Primary and small secondary (rechargeable) batteries are an integral part of our everyday lives. Secondary batteries can be recharged and used repeatedly, and they are the primary power source for compact, lightweight devices that can be used for a long time, such as digital cameras, video cameras, headphone stereos, CD/MD players, electric shavers, and a number of other portable devices, as well as info-communication devices like mobile phones and cordless telephones.

Non-rechargeable primary batteries such as dry-batteries and button-type batteries are widely used in devices like remote controls for TVs, clocks and toys.
These batteries play an important role in our lives.

■ Disaster, emergency use

Even in times of disaster or emergency, batteries play an important role. Emergency and leading lights illuminating the way to safety when evacuating buildings or vehicles as well as fire alarms and fire extinguishing equipment for fighting fires, alarms signaling a crime in progress—disaster prevention and security equipment—all get their power from secondary batteries such as nickel-cadmium and lead-acid batteries that help keep us safe 24 hours a day.

In many cases, these devices are required by law.
Factories, buildings, hospitals, and other public facilities are supplied by AC power sources. In case of temporary power failure or emergencies, secondary batteries are necessary as a backup power source for computers, medical devices, and other equipment that require uninterrupted power supplies. In other applications as well, including lighthouses and unmanned communication facilities, these batteries demonstrate their true value as an emergency power source.

■ Automobiles and motorcycles

(Click the picture to enlarge)

Lead-acid batteries serve an important role as a reliable power source for automobile starters, ignition systems, and lighting devices, and as a storage medium of electricity from charging equipment. The number of electrical devices is growing, and as the world becomes computerized, batteries are serving as a reliable power source.
Many hybrid vehicles, combining engines and electric motors, are widely used out of concern for the environment. These applications use primarily nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Keyless entry systems, atmospheric pressure sensors, and other automobile systems use lithium primary batteries.

■ Transport machines

Batteries are also vital to trains, ships, and airplanes. Batteries not only help to start the engines, but also their power is used to drive the communication equipment on which the smooth operation of aircraft depends. Serving as a backup power source for a variety of devices, secondary batteries contribute to our safety on the transportation to which we entrust our very lives.
Batteries are becoming a clean power source for battery-operated fork lifts and unmanned transport systems used in factory automation, and they are moving into up-and-coming fields such as electric wheelchairs.