SANYO ENELOOP BATTERY IS THE  BEST?

(Now Panasonic)

9 REASONS FOR CHOOSING ENELOOPS:

TO SAVE MONEY (1)

You don`t need to keep buying new batteries!

Sanyo Eneloop batteries got introduced in 2005 with a claimed 1000 cycle life. Now, many years later, the latest Eneloops made by Panasonic, can be charged up to 2100 times. So imagine that you have to buy 2100 Alkaline batteries!

In comparison with cheaper quality rechargeable batteries

One negative aspect that people sometimes bring up is the higher price for Eneloops. This is partly true, but you have to see this as a micro-investment. You are better off having good-quality batteries that you can charge repeatedly. When you compare them to lower quality and usually cheaper batteries, you will notice the following: Low-quality cells lose their capacity faster. They don`t track very well, so mismatched capacity often occurs when batteries are used in series. Eneloop tracks very well. And often, cheap batteries die.
This means you`ll have to replace them at some time while Eneloop batteries would live a much longer life, and therefore are definitely worth the money.

Leaking Alkaline batteries Probably everybody on this planet that reads this website has most likely come across a leaking Alkaline battery. And very often, this results in devices ruined for good.
How much does it cost to replace that device?
And how much time would you spend on replacing it?
Save yourself this headache by staying away from Alkaline batteries in almost any kind of device.
My advice is to not use Alkaline cells in:

  1. Expensive devices
  2. Electronics
  3. Flashlights
  4. Anything inside your emergency kit/ survival kit
  5. Anything that stays in a car, truck, or other vehicles
  6. Anything that remains in rooms or places with significant temperature changes
  7. Anything that mentions in its manual to not use Alkaline /primary cells
  8. Anything that will be stored away for a longer period of time

That will all Save you money in the long run by using Eneloop batteries.

recycle your batteries

buy Eneloops here

Check out the Eneloop seller’s page for the best deals. Check out the counterfeit Eneloops page if you decide to buy from an unkown source or from eBay, AliExpress etc.

GREEN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY (2)

Charged by Solar Energy

Eneloop batteries have been charged by solar energy, before being shipped overseas.

Reducing waste Unfortunately, many people still throw away non-rechargeable batteries in the wrong recycling bin, not even mentioning the times they don`t throw them in a bin.
This is a useless waste. Every Alkaline battery needs to be recycled after being used only once. And by not buying Alkaline batteries, you are also saving on natural resources.

According to the EPBA about 10 billion batteries had been placed on the EU market in 2015. See page 4 of this PDF, with a collection rate of 40%. Imagine the amount of waste this produces every year and how much YOU can help by using Eneloop batteries.

recycle picture

EXTENSIVELY TESTED IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES (3)

Flashlight enthusiast

In the case of using batteries in very bright flashlights (or even low-powered flashlights), these Eneloops have stood the test!
Eneloop batteries have a very slow discharge rate. That means that even if you don`t use your flashlight often, the battery’s charge level remains high enough to use the flashlight a couple of years later, without the need to first charge them. They don’t discharge as fast as Alkaline, NiCD, or other NiMH batteries.
If you google for “Leaked battery inside flashlight” you will get about millions of hits. Many people have ruined their flashlights by leaking alkaline batteries.

Digital camera Strobe users

Flashes used on digital DSLRs need a lot of power to recycle between Flash bursts. The lower the battery power, the longer it takes to “precharge” the flash before it can fire again. Eneloops have proven to work very well. Another great thing is that so many digital camera users have gotten to know about Eneloops that many swear by them. You can use them right out of their package, and you don`t have to charge them up before using them. There have been many tests that involved Eneloop batteries.

EXTREMELY POWERFUL AND LONG-LASTING (4)

High power

Things like flashlights (or torches in B.E.) with high lumens and high Amps will give (rechargeable) batteries a really tough time.
Alkaline batteries normally drop significantly in power till they are at a certain voltage and shut off the light. In some flashlights, Alkaline can do very well at very low current, but never at high current.
Eneloops on the other hand can keep a high current for a long time. Much, much longer than Alkalines.
See the Test Page for more comparisons.
Especially between 2006-2013 there were not many batteries sold by other brands that could come close to the performance both on the LSD side as well as the performance side. Why I say 2013… well, you will be able to find an answer to that question somewhere on this website!

Long-lasting

There are many examples on the internet of people that use Eneloop standard model batteries for more than 5 years that still work well. While only having lost a small % of their initial capacity in some cases. In other cases, they are still doing as well as on day 1.
Me, for example, have received a dozen of rechargeable batteries from a friend to revive them, but to no avail. I only got 4 batteries back to life. The others were impossible to give another chance :–(
And the ones that were revived had a large difference of capacity.

ALWAYS READY TO USE (5)

Unlike NiCd cells NiCad cells have been around for a very long time. As a result, they can be very robust. That`s why you see them a lot in Power Tools. But they need special treatment to keep them in good condition.
The regular AA-size NiCD batteries bought in a store need to be charged right out of the package before their first use. And on top of that, they will discharge within a matter of days/weeks.

70% charged

Eneloops, on the other hand, can be used right out of their package. In addition, they are shipped with a 70% charge. So, yes, you can use them straight out of their box if you want.

picture of how eneloops are charged with solar panels

Lowest Self Discharge in the world! (LSD) (6)

Self Discharge Every battery on the planet has 1 problem in common. And that is Self Discharge. Batteries can not keep their charge at a 100%.
And things get even worse when batteries have been cycled numerous times. Their self-discharge rate gets worse and worse each and every charge cycle.
And another factor is temperature. A high ambient temperature causes the battery to discharge even faster than in colder temperatures. But ice-cold temperatures are also no good, and that has the same effect, a faster discharge.

Of course, some types of batteries have a slower discharge than others. So it is never a good idea to keep a pile of Alkaline batteries in stock for more than a few years for example. By that time, some have died or leaked.2005:
In 2005 the Sanyo Eneloop was announced as the battery with the lowest self-discharge. It claimed to lose only 30% charge in 1 year.
That means when a battery is fully charged with a total capacity of 1,900 mAh, after 1 year the battery would have lost 30% of its initial capacity, and still provide more than 1,300 mAh. After another charge however, the battery would be back to full capacity again (1900mAh). So it can be confusing for some people. Therefore it’s better to say “charge” instead of “capacity”. 2018:
More than 10 years after their initial announcement, they have improved even more. Panasonic Eneloops’ latest standard AA’s have a Self Discharge rate of only 30% in 10 years. That is just incredible!

That`s why they are called the best “Low Self Discharge batteries”.

Announcement of Pansonic changing eneloop name

UNIQUE DESIGNS (7)

White and Blue The first produced Eneloops were white batteries with blue letters.
Once you had seen them, you wouldn`t easily forget their design, because they were simple and unique.
Other famous brands tried to stand out in different wayt, with bright colored packages, LARGE TEXT, Exaggerated claims like: High Power, Extreme, Long Lasting, Super, Power, Ultra etc.

Sanyo Eneloop on the other hand, kept it simplistic. This is a very common Japanese principle for design.

Limited editions In 2009 Sanyo produced their first-of-a-kind limited edition batteries. They used unique colored or printed wrappers for each battery. This really set them apart from other brands on the market.
On the inside, they were just the same white Eneloops, and only the ‘exterior’ changed.

Since 2009, Sanyo and Panasonic produced about 20+ different kinds of special editions. Most of them were made in Japan, but some were made in China. See my page with the different kinds of special battery wrappers. When you buy multiple packs of the same limited editions you can put the same color batteries together to always stay together when used in certain applications.
This is a GREAT way to distinguish which battery belongs to which device.

3 model types with each their own unique color

Continuing this simplistic design that set them apart from the rest of the bunch, in 2010 they designed the new Lite and Pro batteries. Both of them had unique colors as well to distinguish them from one another. The Lite batteries got a virgin blue color, while the PRO version (named Eneloop XX in the western world) was black.

DIFFERENT MODELS FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS (8)

Standard

Standard Eneloop batteries have a capacity of 1,900 mAh (AA) and 750mAh (AAA) respectively. Both can be used in many different applications, from low current to high current. If you aren’t sure which type you want to buy, go for the standard Eneloops because they perform well in most applications!

Lite

The Eneloop Lite batteries have a capacity of 950mAh (AA) and 500mAh (AAA) respectively. They are the best choice for low-current devices like remote controls, clocks, and DECT phones. And personally, I use them in my kids’ toys because they can take a beating!

Pro

The Eneloop Pro batteries have a capacity of about 2500 mAh (AA) and 930mAh (AAA) respectively. They are the best performers in high-drain devices like Camera strobes and Flashlights. However, they do not fare well in applications with a constant charge current like DECT phones. In those cases, they will suck.

Every application requires a different batteru. Each with its pros and cons, but if you don’t know which version to get, just get the standard white Eneloops with 1900mAh.

NO HEADACHES ANYMORE! (9)

Peace of mind

This is one of the most important reasons to choose Eneloops!

On internet forums like Reddit, I often see people asking the question: Are (insert brand of battery here)… any good? They saw some cheap batteries at Harbor Freight, Wallmart, BestBuy, Lidl, or Aldi and are drawn to them for only 1 reason: the price.

If you are a hobbyist and like to test batteries for fun go ahead and buy the cheaper cells and do your testing!

But for everybody else who DON`T want to go through all this testing, just buy Japanese Eneloop batteries and STOP worrying.

Eneloop batteries are around for more than 15 years and have proven over and over again that they are well worth the extra little investment! They will pay you back, both in time, money, and lower stress levels!

Eneloop batteries are one of the best rechargeable batteries in the world.
You can buy them in the following countries:

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