The world currently has 3.8 billion smart phones and is expected to grow to 5.2 billion active smart phones by the end of the year 2030. Which means there are currently 3.8 billion lithium-ion batteries in use powering each smart phone.
Powering our smart phones has therefore become a daily activity, however the way the world has adapted to powering these lithium-ion batteries is the opposite of the sustainable way we ought to go. Here’s why.
Trickle Charging
Todays methods of charging our phones overnight is called trickle charging. A process that goes — Start charging the phone in a “bulk power” sequence until the voltage constantly increases from 2.8V (0%) to its full capacity of 4.4V(100%).
Once the battery has reached its full capacity it maintains its full capacity at a “floating power” sequence — by inputting little amounts of power to keep the battery at 100%, hence why it’s called “floating”
Here’s the problem — Charging our lithium-ion batteries all the way up to 100% damages its lifespan as high voltages above 80% cause excessive battery stress. The bigger problem is the constant delivery of excessive power at 100% to keep a full charge causes internal temperatures to keep the battery at a high voltage range for hours — increasing battery stress and harming its capacity.
“It’s like doing more work, on top of more work — you’re bound to get stressed and burn out.” – Tyton Energy Co
SafeNight Charging
Enter SafeNight Charging. We’ve created SafeNight charging to intelligently work alongside Autopilot by halting the charging process at the selected Autopilot upper limit rage (80% or 90%).
Why “Safe” ?
Autopilot ranges end at either 80% (Health Cycle & Active Mode) or 90% (Daily 10’s & Daily 20’s). We’ve chosen these ranges for maintaining lower voltages at a healthy range for a healthier battery by reducing the amount of stress endured by the battery.
Furthermore, by avoiding the process of delivering little amounts of power to keep the battery at a full charge (Trickle charging), we completely discontinue charging when it reaches the healthy Autopilot start range.
By doing so, we operate at a healthy voltage range keeping the battery at a cool state — this cool state is an essential to prevent battery ageing and retain its peak performance.
“Lithium-ion operates safely within the designated operating voltages; however, the battery becomes unstable if inadvertently charged to a higher than specified voltage.” – Battery university
The Forward Way
As mentioned earlier, the rise of smartphones is expected to keep growing, thereby we believe there is an obligation to innovate in a better way to keep these lithium-ion cells powered — safely, securely and sustainably.
SafeNight Charging offers a simple solution, to improving a step of our daily routines. By practicing SafeNight charging not only can we improve our battery health, but we gain the benefit of tomorrow’s morning being taken care by Autopilot.