Monday, October 26, 2026
Why Cycles Matter More Than Hours When Estimating Battery Life
Power & Motion Tech: The average human life expectancy in the USA is about 687,000 hours. That number is accurate, but it is also completely useless for estimating your individual lifetime.
Car makers don’t warrant engines in years of ownership; they warrant them in miles, because a delivery van and a leisure car can be the same age and in a very different state.
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I AGREE. I swear I’ve been saying this in my head for years. Hours of battery life are useless because everyone uses their battery differently. Some plug in and charge their phone and use their entire battery daily. Others (like me) cycle their battery every 2 or three days. I personally only charge my phone to 90% as well to extend its battery health life. Temperature also factors into power discharge efficiency, affecting the rate of the battery cycle. Because of these variable differences, cycles are the superior method of measurement for battery life. Using hours is still relevant for measuring daily use case. Knowing my phone lasts an average of 30 hours on a single charge under medium use case is useful when buying. Same for a power bank. I know my phone is 5400 mAh, so a 10000 mAh power bank will be great for me. Having all units of measurements available when purchasing would be superior for the buyers to help determine what is best for them.
Okay, to my knowledge, rarely does theater need to use Lithium Ion batteries in our applications---most of the time, things are either hard wired, or larger, non-Lithium Ion batteries are used, because they are cheaper and less prone to catching on fire. But when they are used, battery life isn't really a consideration for most theater shows, *except* for equipment that is going to be running for years on end in long Broadway shows. If a Lithium Ion battery is used, say for some stage automation, of course the amp-hour rating needs to be large enough for the usage each night, as well as some backup for when the battery degrades or if there is an unexpected issue, but additionally, I would assume that if you only partially discharge a battery and then recharge it, it will still have a negative effect on the battery, having been a cycle. Therefore, do you want to buy a battery large enough for two shows, or just big enough for one, or one with enough battery life to last through significant degradation, increasing the amount of time between battery replacements. While I've been focusing on scenery, this is also very relevant in sound and lighting. For lighting, avoiding frivolously using/charging battery powered lights to keep their batteries in prime shape. For sound, wireless microphones often use Lithium Ion batteries, although to be honest, this article is not particularly relevant to wireless mic batteries, because typically you can only buy one type of battery for each mic.
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