What are Power Banks and How do they work?

 

Not all people are acknowledged of what are power banks and what do they do. However, in this modern era of advancing technology power banks are becoming popular day by day. People having an interest in gadgets get to know a lot about power banks.

As today, people having mobile phones, tabs, laptops, smartwatches, and other gadgets to do daily business efficiently. There is a much need for something that makes these gimmicks charged. 

“Power Bank is a device that is used to charge our valuables anywhere at any time when you are short of charging”

It helps you a lot especially when you go on tours, vacations, parties, and a lot more. Power Banks are practical gadgets that come in various shapes and sizes, but What they are for? Let us explore their work and potential to know more and choose the right one for us!

What is a Power Bank? What can they charge?

They are gadgets that consist of a battery in a case with a circuit that controls the power flow. Power Bank allows you to store electrical energy in it so that you can use it later to charge up a mobile device or other things. It is not wrong to call it a battery backup. They are designed to use on the go! As, the battery timing of our game station, mobiles, tablets is outstripped by the time we invest using these gadgets every day.

 

Power Banks are that’s why becoming popular day by day to meet our requirements. By keeping a battery backup nearby, you can overcome your device by going far from the wall outlet. Typically, anything that is charged by USB can also be charged by a power bank. You can charge cameras, speakers, tablets, mobiles, Mp3 players, GPS systems, from the power bank. They are also known as battery stations or battery banks.

Types of Power Banks?

There are three major types in the market:

1 Universal Power Bank

It is a very good type of power bank as it comes in different sizes in markets. You can choose a power bank following your mobile phone and budget.

2 Solar charged Power Bank

This type of power bank is famous for its solar function as it charges itself in sunlight. The Power bank of this type contains photovoltaic panels which can charge the battery when placed in sunlight. But there is a drawback that solar charging is not much fast so you can use cables too.

3 Battery Phone Case

It is the oldest style power bank. A battery phone case that is handy, portable, and has narrow device compatibility.

How does it work?

They are designed for when you are on the move. It only charges your battery when it needs to be charged. Power bank saves power and ensures that your device will never get overcharged. It consists of a special case containing a circuit located inside which is controlling the power flow.

 

How to Charge a Power Bank?

We often notice that a power bank uses a micro USB socket to charge and full-sized sockets to discharge. It is very rare that a power bank uses the same sockets in both charging and discharging. If you are confused about its input-output function, do check the manual for specific information. A power bank may take a while to be fully charged, it depends upon the capacity and current charging of a power bank. Let’s take an example if you are not bored yet! 

 

A Power bank containing a 1400mAh battery should take the same time to charge as your smartphone. Similarly, for larger banks, the time is doubled or tripled. Many power banks have this feature of showing their capacity level at LED indicator. They also contain a safety cutoff to prevent overheating or overcharging. We should disconnect a power bank when it is fully charged otherwise it may affect the battery severely. You should also take into notice a thing that trying to fast charge a power bank with a 2A charger should worsen the effect. 

How long it takes to charge a Power Bank?

If we talk about how long it takes to charge a power bank, we will come to know about the factors it depends on. First of all, it depends upon the current charging level of the power bank second one is power banks capacity. For example, if there is 70% charging of power bank already, it will take less time to recharge. But if you plug in the power bank when its battery was empty, it will take a lot much time to recharge. Similarly, for bigger banks, it will take much more 2x, 3x, even 4x time to recharge. 

How many times a Power Bank charge a device?

Generally, we use an icon system to check that what are the average device charges you are likely to get out of the power bank. We consider a formula that average device capacity of 1500mAh (power level less than 20% and, 80?ficiency rating). Many power banks boost ratings up to 90% but, in real-world climate, it ends up with 80% of efficiency. But shortly, the bigger is a power bank and the smaller is a device, the more goes you get. You just have to keep it with caution and don’t misuse your device. Hence, it will work better for a longer period. Let us take an example by using the formula:

(POWER BANK CAPACITY X 3.7 / OUTPUT VOLTAGE) X 0.85 / PHONE BATTERY CAPACITY  = TOTAL NUMBER OF RECHARGES

To calculate the number of charges a 4000 mAh power bank with 5V output voltage will give the iPhone X with 2,716 mAh battery capacity:

(4000 mAh x 3.7 / 5V) x 0.85 / 2716 mAh = 1.0 charges

How long does the Power Bank last?

The answer may vary as types vary. Sometimes it depends upon the quality of its manufacturing, internal components, and other factors. The market does not stock power banks having fewer than five hundred charge cycles in them. Because it will last only less than 1 and a half years. Expensive power banks can last longer depending upon quality. As we all know that power banks are generally not used daily, so they last much more than 18 months. 

 

If we talk about how long it retains charging when not in use, then the answer is different. In this case, the power retaining time is dependent on battery cells and the controller circuitry quality. A good power bank can hold the charging for 4 to 6 months or longer with a little loss. Over time most power banks lose charging by the degree of environmental factors. Like, if you left your power bank in the car the heat may affect its battery and can cause a shorter life span.

The Value of Power Banks

Power banks have become even more popular over the last few years. With the ever-increasing demand to always be active and stay connected. When it comes to doing business, they are of great importance. The days of working hours to respond to an email or missing a deadline due to being offline are truly over. Modern-day battery life helps us out with better expectations. It can be a real struggle for anyone, especially business travelers, who spend a lot of time going from meeting to meeting and stay busy 24|7.