Sanyo Eneloop battery product.

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What's eneloop?

The battery for the 21st century


   

eneloop is a totally new type of battery, which satisfies

in a unique way the needs and expectations of the consumers.

 

The needs of the consumers

Consumers would like to have a battery, which

    * can be used right after the purchase
    * has a high performance
    * has a long shelf life with no loss of energy
    * can be used everywhere
    * is cheap in purchase and usage
    * is environmental friendly
    * is easy to use

 

 

Spoilt for choice

So far these requirements could not be satisfied by a single type of batteries.

The consumer had the choice between disposable batteries or rechargeable batteries.

 

Disposable batteries have several advantages :

    * they can be used immediately
    * they have a long shelf life with low loss of energy
    * they are rather cheap in purchase
    * they are easy to use and no charger is required

 

These advantages however, had to be seen alongside several clear disadvantages.

Disposable batteries

    * can be used only once and therefore mean substantial waste and risk for the environment.
    * have to be purchased over and over again and are therefore expensive considering the life-time of your equipment.
    * are not quite powerful enough in certain applications ( like digital cameras )
    * are being offered in many varieties and special application-specific types, which confuses the consumer.

The classical advantages of rechargeable batteries are:

    * high performance, especially if high discharge currents are required ( like in digital cameras )
    * cheap in use, because they can be recharged many times.
    * environmental friendly, because one rechargeable battery replaces 1000 disposable batteries.
    * good performance at low temperatures.

Given these advantages, there were however also some disadvantages, which made consumers reluctant to exchange disposable batteries by rechargeable batteries.

 

    * After purchase, rechargeable batteries have to be charged before they can be used.
    * Rechargeable batteries lose the stored energy rather fast.
    * The state of charge is hard to determine.
    * Continuous charging or frequent charge ( without complete discharge ) can destroy the battery.
    * Proper charging is complicated for an average consumer
    * The charging takes quite long and rapid chargers are expensive. 

 

All these negative attributes have one root-cause: self discharge.

 

Self-discharge means, that a charged battery slowly discharges itself without any equipment consuming any current.

This is the reason for rechargeable batteries being sold in discharged state. And this is the reason for that keeping charged batteries for some time did not make any sense. When you needed them, the energy was gone.

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Immediate Use

like a disposable battery

Because the eneloop has a very low self-discharge, SANYO can ship the batteries

to the retailers in a charged state. Also in the shops eneloop loses it´s charge very slowly.

This means the consumer purchases a charged battery, which can be used immediately.

 

The eneloop is therefore as user-friendly as a disposable battery.

 

For obvious reasons SANYO can not guarantee any specific state of charge for each eneloop,

because it is impossible to predict the storage time in the supply-chain.

We ask for your understanding.

A low energy content is however, not a defect of the battery.

After a reload, the energy content should match the rated capacity.





Low self-discharge - the key-advantage

What makes the eneloop unique?




The key-advantage of the eneloop compared to usual rechargeable batteries is its extremely low self-discharge.

 

 

Once charges, eneloop keeps its charge even if you store it for 6 or 12 months.

( 90 per cent of the charge after 6 months, 85 per cent after 12 months )

 

For a rechargeable battery this is a revolutionary advantage.

No more worries about the state of charge of your battery.

Just, charge them and keep them.

Even after months you will still have an almost full battery.





1000 times rechargeable

saves the environment and your purse




In contrast to a disposable battery the eneloop can be charged 1000 times. This saves the environment and your purse.

Thus one eneloop saves the waste of 999 disposable batteries.

But also financially the eneloop has benefits.  Even if you consider the slightly higher cost of the eneloop compared to a disposable battery and add the cost for the charger and the energy consumed by the charger, the investment for one eneloop returns easily after a few charging cycles.

Imagine how much money you have spent for batteries in your life. Now there is an end to this spending.

 

Please consider how long one eneloop will last, if you discharge and charge it once per week.

Yes, your calculation was right: 19 years.

( Of course this is a mathematical calculation only and not a guarantee for the actual lifetime of the battery. )

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How does eneloop protect the environment ?


Background

Batteries are part of our modern life. Just imagine your houshold without batteries.

 

The amount of sold batteries in the European Union in 2005 was approximately 180 000 tons. ( SANYO estimation ).

In Germany for example more than 1.3 Billion batteries have been sold in 2005.

More than 90 per cent of this amount come from disposalbe batteries; i.e. batteries, which can only be used once

and have to be disposed after usage.

 

This alone represents a gigantic waste of resources, if you consider that 162 000 tons of batteries plus packaging

have been produced and transported only for a single use. Also the unavoidable burden for the environment by the

manfacturing process and by the transport should be considered.

 

The governments of the EU member states have realized the potential threat for the environment by this huge amount of disposed batteries and have therefore requested the battery manufacturers to collect and recycle these batteries. In several european countries collection and recycling systems have been setup. In spite of all efforts, the amount of collected batteries is by far less than 50 percent in most countries. The reason for this is, that the consumers have to be motivated to bring back the spent batteries to specific collection points and not dump them in the houshold garbage. 

The consequence of this still poor collection rate is, that more than 90 000 tons of batteries end up in the houshold waste stream.

 

Once the batteries have been collected they have to be sorted by chemistry in order to recycle them.  The battery manufacturers together with the local collection systems have invested heavily in latest technology to ensure a high degree of sorting accuracy.  Only if the batteries are sorted correctly they can be recycled properly. Recycling of all kind of batteries is technically possible today.

Sorting and recycling rates of the collected batteries increase every year and do not represent a major problem any more.  In Germany for example 88 per cent of the collected batteries in 2006 have been recycled and only 12 per cent had to be land filled.

 

SANYO has actively contributed to the constitutions of collection systems and is permanently supporting improvements in collection, sorting and recycling of spent batteries. All batteries sold by SANYO can be recycled.

 

   

 

How can the environment be protected from any damage by batteries?

 

    * Avoiding garbage by utilizing reusable batteries
      The easiest way to avoid any damage to the environment is to avoid any garbage.
      A product, which is not produced, packaged and transported, can not damage the environment.
      Therefore the consumers should understand the advantage of a reusable product versus a
      disposable product also at batteries.

      Last but not least are batteries electrical energy in cans and it is not necessary to throw away the can,
      once the can is empty. It rather makes sense to fill the can again with energy and use it again and again.
      Such a reusable can for electrical energy exists. It is called rechargeable battery.
      Eneloop is such a rechargeable battery, which can be charged 1000 times, before its performance comes to an end.
      This means, that one eneloop saves the garbage of 999 disposable batteries.

    * Usage of environmentally friendly materials
      The second way to protect the environment is to use environmentally friendly materials for the product and the packaging.
      Eneloop is a rechargeable battery using latest Ni-MH technology. It does not contain any cadmium and in comparison
      to other Ni-MH batteries less cobalt.

      Also the packaging material has been chosen with care. The blister package is made of PET, which is fully recyclable
      and widely used for beverage bottles.

    * Return and recycling
      The third way to protect the environment is to return spent batteries to collection points rather than throwing them in the houshold garbage barrel. Only returned batteries can be collected and only collected batteries can be sorted and recycled.
      Of course also a spent eneloop should be returned to a battery collection point. 

[DAVIS]

    
eneloop - the only battery you will ever need



One battery for all applications

Does this sound familiar to you?

You stand in the electronic shop and you only came there

to purchase a pack of batteries.

But the rack in front of you is full of batteries.

Batteries for this application and batteries for that application,

cheap batteries, expensive ones, red, yellow, blue and green

batteries, disposable batteries, rechargeable batteries,

AA, AAA, C and D sizes  -  You are confused.

 

There is an end to this confusion.

 

 

eneloop is the right battery for all your applications.

It replaces disposable batteries in
   Remote controls,
   Cameras
   Clocks and alarm-clocks
   Electric torches,
   Radios,
   LCD-TVs
   Toothbrushes
   Shavers
   Flashlights
   Toys,
   MP3-Players
   Electronic games
   Computer-keyboards und mice.

No more need for special batteries

Several manufacturers offer special disposable batteries for certain applications like cameras or audio. They claim, that only these special batteries have enough power to run these applications.

No more need for these expensive special batteries. eneloop is powerfull enough to run all these applications without problem and even better than any of the special disposable batteries.

 

 

Expensive batteries or cheap batteries?

Sure, also in batteries performance and quality is not for free.

But please compare the price of eneloop with the price of high quality disposable batteries.  -  And remember, that you can use one eneloop 1000 times.  The decision should be easy.

 

eneloop-more performance for your digicam



   
   

   With eneloop you can make substantially more shots with your digital camera than with any other disposable battery.

The main advantages of Ni-MH rechargeable batteries exist also in the eneloop:

- appr. 4 time more shots than with alkaline batteries

- high performance even at low temperatures
  down to  –10 °C during your winter vacation

- rechargeable and therefore cheaper on the long run.


   


Result of a SANYO Test



   
   Additional advantages of eneloop
In comparison to other, conventional Ni-MH rechargeable batteries eneloop offers several additional advantages
for the foto-amateur:

- eneloop can be stored in charged state - in the camera or separate as backup replacement.
- The state of charge can be predicted very well and can be planned.
- The time you need for charging the battery is not relevant any more, because the eneloop can be charged long before the actual application and kept charged.
- expensive quick-chargers are no longer necessary.
- never again forget to charge before you start your trip.


Charging made easy


Charge your battery when you want

With normal rechargeable batteries it made sense to charge them just before you wanted to use them. Too much risk otherwise, that the battery did not provide full power, when needed. Therefore there was a checkpoint on every vacation checklist:  Charge batteries.

 

The the endless time, till the batteries are finally charged.

Even with the most advanced and most expensive chargers it still takes 15 minutes. This can be very long 15 minutes, if the taxi is waiting at the door.

Now you can forget all this. Charge the eneloop, whenever you have time for it and store them. The extremely low self discharge of eneloop saves you from all the charging stress.

 

When you use eneloop in your houshold equipment, spend some extra money and purchase a set of spare eneloops. Keep these spare eneloops stored in a charged state and you will allways have fresh batteries at hand whenever you need them.

 

 

 

SANYO Chargers

SANYO offer special chargers for the eneloop. These chargers have been developed by SANYO and have been tested for charging eneloop batteries.

 

With the charger MDR03 you can charge two eneloops of size AA in 250 minutes or two eneloops of size AAA in 170 minutes. The charger works with AC-voltages from 100V to 240V and is therefore ready to join you on your trips to other countries.

 

Other Chargers

Basically eneloop is a modern Ni-MH battery, which can be charged like any other Ni-MH battery.

Therefore eneloop can be charged also with other, modern chargers, which are suitable to charge Ni-MH batteries.

However, SANYO cannot accept any liability for the function or safety of chargers made by other manufacturers.

Also SANYO cannot be held responsible for any damage to eneloop batteries caused by unsuitable chargers.