The Importance of Car Batteries
There’s nothing worse than getting into your car, turning your keys in the ignition, and not hearing anything happening. Maybe you left your lights on, maybe you left the door ajar, but something happened and now your battery is toast. Unfortunately, even with auto technician training, it’s still a pretty common occurrence.
First and foremost, there are a variety of battery types, and you should be aware of what kind yours is. You can easily find out what kind of battery your vehicle takes by consulting the manual or looking it up on the manufacturer’s website. You should be aware of not only what kind of battery your vehicle takes, but the voltage as well. It doesn’t take auto mechanic courses to figure it out, but it might take a bit of sleuthing.
In all sincerity, you should probably own a battery charger. Keep it in the trunk for emergencies, and you would be surprised how amazing that peace of mind is – knowing that if you run out of juice, you just have to find an outlet somewhere and plug it in. While it may seem like a bit of an unnecessary purchase, you definitely won’t think so the next time your battery’s dead and no one will give you a jump!
Because, while a jumpstart is a great way to get the car going again, it’s not the be-all and end-all of battery charging, and it should really only be used to get you going so you can run out and get a new battery. After you’ve gotten started, you should drop into your nearest auto center, talk to an auto mechanic and pick up a new battery, because next time you might not get so lucky.
Luckily for us though, there have also been some great developments in battery technology that might mean the end of that fear when you get into the car.
Thanks to the booming electric vehicle industry, the advancements in battery power have also trickled down to the gas vehicle industry as well, meaning that we have the technology to make better, more sustainble and more efficient batteries for vehicles now.
Researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder are working on a solid-state battery technology as we speak. A solid-state battery is about three times more efficient than a normal car battery, as well as being lighter and safer. The technology is still relatively new, but with the nation buzzing about electric cars, it won’t be long before this battery is implemented.
It doesn’t stop there, though. Researchers all around the world are developing ideas for more efficient battery power. Even going as far as thinking about carbon nano-tubes and copper nano-wires! Recently, Toyota unveiled their plans to use the body of the car itself as a battery, enabling energy to be stored in the car’s panels. Then, even if your battery is toast, it can sap the energy from the panels in the car to keep you running. Looks like those nightmares about forgetting your jumper cables will soon be a thing of the past!
