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Cost of Battery Power

The cost of portable battery power is very expensive when compared to mains power available from a wall receptacle. The typical daily energy consumption of a household is 25 kilowatt-hour (kWh) at a cost of US $0.05 to 0.10 per kWh. In contrast, the table below shows the cost per kWh using non-rechargeable cells.

AAA Cell

AA Cell

C Cell

D Cell

9 Volt

Capacity

1100mAh

2500mAh

7100mAh

14,300mAh

600mAh

Energy

1.4 Wh

3 Wh

9 Wh

18 Wh

4.2 Wh

Cost per Cell

$1.25

$1.00

$1.60

$1.60

$3.10

Cost per KWh

$890

$330

$180

$90

$730

Note: all costs are in 1998 US $

The table below compares the cost per KWh when using various types of rechargeable batteries. The cost analysis is based on the purchase cost of the battery and number of discharge-charge cycles it can endure before replacement is necessary, but does not include the electricity needed for charging, nor does it account for the cost of purchasing and maintaining the charging equipment.

NiCd

NiMH

SLA

Li-ion

RAM

AA Cell

AA Cell

typical pack

18650 Cell

AA Cell

Capacity (mAh)

600

1000

2000

1200

1400

Battery Voltage (V)

7.5

7.5

12

7.2

7.5

Energy per cycle (Wh)

4.5

7.5

24

8.6

6.3

Cycle life

1500

500

250

500

10

Cost per battery

$50

$70

$50

$100

$6

Cost per KWh

$7.50

$18.50

$8.50

$24.00

$95.00