While easy to carry, batteries do heavy lifting

If you threw a party for high-tech hardware, HDTVs, iPhones and top-of-the-line computers would be on the A-list. They’d arrive in fancy cars, dressed to kill.

Batteries, on the other hand, would be working in the kitchen.

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But today we’ll give batteries their 15 minutes of fame. They’re the unsung heroes of most everything we do. When you are on vacation they keep your digital camera and camcorder working. Computers would be high-priced doorstops without them. And when the power goes out, a flashlight with good batteries is worth more than the best HDTV.

Not all batteries are created equal, and to get the most out of them you need to know what kind of battery works best for a given application. This chart from Consumer Reports will help you sort out the best battery for the job: http://tinyurl.com/ bj45ch.

Let’s start at the bottom of the pecking order — the alkaline batteries you see on racks at checkout counters. They have a virtue not shared by more exotic, higher-priced batteries: They can sit on a shelf, unused, for years without losing their charge. Two or three years after purchase, you can grab one, stick it in a flashlight and get almost the same amount of power and life as you would with one right off the shelf.

I suggest buying an assortment in AA, AAA, C and D sizes and storing them. Chargers for this type of battery are not worth the bother.

You’ll see long-life lithium batteries advertised for fire detectors. But unless the detector directions suggest lithium I advise sticking with alkaline and picking an easy-to-remember date to change them, such as the Super Bowl or at the fall time change.

Differences between brands aren’t significant, but you can check out this chart to see how brand-name batteries stacked up against no names: http://tinyurl.com/ ck7be4.

Now let’s talk about rechargeable batteries. They save a lot of money on replacements. One old favorite is the nickel cadmium battery, or nicad. But they don’t hold a charge for long and run down even when not in use. They also contain toxic metals.

Nickel-metal hydride rechargeables are better, though not perfect. They’re not as toxic and have higher capacity, and they work longer between charges. Like the nicad, they run down when stored unused, and they don’t deliver quite as much voltage as an alkaline. Typically an AA alkaline delivers 1.5 volts vs. 1.2 volts with most nickel-metal hydrides.

I’ve seen digital cameras that won’t work with the lower voltage. And the difference is compounded in devices that use several batteries. Four alkaline batteries in series produce about 6 volts vs. 4.8 volts for hydrides. So if a gadget refuses to run with these batteries, try it with alkalines.

Lithium ion batteries have a lot of advantages — as well as a high price tag.

These are common in devices such as laptops and cellphones. They have the best energy-to-weight ratio of any conventional battery, giving you more juice without extra weight. They also discharge when unused, but at a much lower rate than nickel metal hydrides. But over time, used or not, they wear out and capacity declines. All you can do is buy an expensive replacement.

Prolong lithium ion battery life by avoiding complete discharges. Since heat hastens death, remove the battery when you’re on AC power.

So there’s my quick take on batteries. But you may profit by reading more. This site — http://michaelbluejay.com/batteries/ — was created a few years back, but the information is good. It goes into much more detail than I could and is both authoritative and easy to read.