A smartphone in a car is an indispensable thing. Probably every car owner uses the device as a navigator. This is really convenient even in cases where you know the way yourself. The application shows traffic jams, taking into account road traffic in this moment helps you plan the best route and also warns you about cameras on the road. However, when using the navigator, the battery drains quickly. Surely in this case you have a charger in your car.
Possible options for charging a smartphone in a car
1. Charging with USB outputs from a cigarette lighter or 12 V socket, and this is not an opening. But it is important to use an original product from the manufacturer, and there are a number of reasons for this:
- firstly, it will protect the phone from possible breakdowns and overheating;
- Secondly, Chinese fakes may be hazardous directly to vehicle components;
- thirdly, the original device has optimal voltage parameters and will provide fairly fast charging.
2. An alternative option is to charge using your car radio. Almost all modern models of car media systems are equipped with a USB connector. You can connect your smartphone to it using a cable. In this case, the charging speed is low, but it may be quite suitable as an emergency option.
3. There are cases when drivers give preference solar panels. For recharging the phone, the optimal indicators are a voltage of 6V, as well as a power of 4 W. However, this is rather a curious experiment. In practice, the solar panel will not charge the smartphone faster than the navigator discharges it. In addition, this design only works during the daytime.
Is it dangerous to charge gadgets in the car?
Although this has now become commonplace, in fact, charging a phone is in some way contrary to the rules for operating a vehicle. To avoid unpleasant consequences for both the gadget and the car’s electronics, use only branded accessories. Often, counterfeit adapters and cables lead to a local fire in the cabin.
How much do you think a portable car charger consumes? electric current when it is in standby mode (no device is connected to it)? Do you think it doesn't consume anything? You are wrong. Then the natural question arises, how much electricity does a mobile charger in a car consume in standby mode and is this enough to power it? No the best way find out all this and answer questions than direct measurement. Let's find out more about this.
Many modern cars have USB connectors, with which you can not only connect a smartphone or tablet to integrate it with the car's audio system, but also. True, the quality of charging from the factory USB connectors leaves much to be desired. The fact is that the transmission power of electricity in automobile USB connectors very low. That is, if you connect the phone to the factory USB connector, it will charge very slowly.
For example, in many cars it can take 1 hour to charge a phone from zero to just 15 percent. That is why many owners of modern cars that are installed in the cigarette lighter (12 Volt) of the car.
Thanks to special chargers that are installed in the 12-V car cigarette lighter, charging phones and other electronic devices happens pretty quickly. For example, some charging device are able to charge the phone from zero to maximum in just 1 hour. But such a device’s charging power makes one wonder. Does such fast charging harm the battery?
So there is reason to worry. After all, it is known that the faster the phone charges, . In our case, electrical energy comes from the car's battery. This is why there are concerns that a powerful car charger can affect battery charging. But if there are no problems with charging during this time, since while the engine is running, the generator recharges the battery. But what happens when the car engine is turned off? For example, in a parking lot? After all, the car's cigarette lighter works even when the engine is turned off.
Do I need to remove the charger when leaving the car? After all, in any case, does it consume current even in standby mode? Will the device drain the battery in our absence? Let's find out by measuring the energy consumption of the charger in standby mode.
We all know that the charger in a car runs on electrical network car 12 Volt. Let's take measurements at home. To do this, we installed a 12-volt power supply into the outlet in order to simulate the voltage of the car's electrical network. Next, we took a car charger and connected it to a 12-volt power supply. Then, using crabs (crocodiles), we connected a multimeter (voltmeter) to the charger and took measurements.
Answer: USB charger for car cigarette lighter consumes only in standby mode 14.2 milliamps (mA) . Do you think this is enough to worry about the device being in standby mode draining the battery? In most cases no. Here's the proof.
A typical car battery usually holds about 40 amps per hour. This value indicates that such a battery can provide 1 amp of electricity for 40 hours. So we found out that a USB car charger consumes 14.2 mA, so in order for it to completely discharge a car battery with a capacity of 40 Amp/h, you will need2817 hours or 117 days. So if you use your car every day, you don’t have to worry that a charger installed in the cigarette lighter in standby mode will drain the car’s battery very quickly.
It is noteworthy that even if you park the car for a week or even two and do not turn off the charger from the cigarette lighter, you do not risk that it will drain the battery.
But, it is better, of course, to disconnect the charger from the car’s electrical network, since even low level consumption of electricity by a portable charger during prolonged use may still drain the car's battery.
But in reality, being plugged into your car's cigarette lighter shouldn't be any more of a concern than other electrical systems that consume electricity around the clock. Believe me, if you leave your car parked for a long time, the battery will drain faster from the alarm or keyless entry system than from your mobile phone. USB charging. The fact is that the car alarm and the car's comfort access system consume much more energy even in standby mode.
So, if you went on vacation and remembered that, after parking the car, you forgot to turn off the charger from the cigarette lighter, don’t worry. Unless you're away for more than 100 days, your charger is unlikely to completely drain your car's battery. Of course, if the battery in your car is old and cannot hold a charge for a long time, then USB device in standby mode will drain the battery much faster. But if you leave the car for no more than 1 month, then even the old battery will not have time to discharge before your arrival.
If you're on the road and it's going to be a long trip, or you're stuck in traffic for hours on the way home from work, there's nothing worse than your smartphone battery running low. A low phone charge can spell disaster for a bored driver. But there’s no need to panic, because it’s so cool that modern cars have, and often several of them, and you can, if necessary, plug a splitter into the “cigarette lighter” and charge several devices at once, if you’re really impatient. Is there any catch to charging your phone using a car USB port? Let's figure it out.
At first glance, connecting your phone to your car's USB port may seem completely harmless. But if you can wait to charge, there is no emergency; you should not connect your iPhone or Samsung to the on-board power via a cable, because this can be a big mistake. Accumulator battery The phone won't thank you for this.
Why is that? Here are a few reasons, it’s up to you to believe or not:
Charging a smartphone via a car USB port is almost impossible (the current is too low)
Firstly, charging your phone in the car is useless in 80% of cases. The USB port in your car most likely won't provide the current that your phone really needs. As a result, your smartphone may simply run out of charge while charging if you use it.
“Many people may notice that during their 30-60 minute commute home from work, the connected phone barely charges, says Brad Nichols, a technician at a company that specializes in fixing Staymobile devices. – This is mainly due to the fact that the phone uses more power than the car charger can supply.”
In fact, this is easy to check, for example, in my car you can charge an iPhone for two hours and only progress by 10-15%.
If you plug your cell phone into the cigarette lighter, you will also get problems.
Things will get even worse with charging. mobile phone. In this case, the smartphone may receive too much power. Most cigarette lighters are capable of delivering current up to 10 amperes, while most chargers operate at one or maximum three amperes.
If the charger works normally, then in general there should be no problems. But if the charger is damaged, faulty, or simply a Chinese substitute for the original, expect problems. When inserted into the cigarette lighter socket, it can cause sudden power surges that can cause the smartphone to overheat, damage internal components, or, in rare cases, destroy the device.
An abandoned smartphone can drain a car battery.
Thirdly, charge your phone via USB port. Don’t be surprised, as experts say, this happens. If you constantly leave the device plugged into the charging port of a car with the engine off, sooner or later the following will happen: you will not be able to start the car because the battery does not have enough starting current. It will simply run out.
This is usually not a big deal for those owners who have new cars with new batteries in their garage. But if your car is older, you should avoid charging your phone via USB, unless you're a forgetful person.
Just a few years ago, when mobile phones first came into existence, charging the battery of a mobile phone was a considerable hassle for its owner. Today, you can charge your mobile phone almost anywhere. One such place is the car. One of the main advantages of charging your phone from is the ability to use your smartphone in a loaded mode, without sparing its battery charge and safely enjoying its capabilities without the fear of seeing a low battery level by the end of the trip. Thus, when using the phone under heavy load, charging from the cigarette lighter is quite capable of maintaining the charge level without letting it drop.Another advantage is precisely the case when the phone is not used during the trip. In this case, the battery charge level will not only be maintained, but also replenished. This will allow you to use your smartphone longer that day.
Another important pleasant feature of the ability to charge your phone from a cigarette lighter is the case when the battery level of your phone is at a critically low level, and you do not intend to stop using the phone. Then charging becomes a savior for you. This is especially felt in any emergency situations, for example, on long trips.
Disadvantages of using a mobile phone car charger
Of course, car charging is pleasant and convenient function, used today by almost every driver, because its advantages are undeniable. However, not every motorist knows that charging a phone does not leave its mark on his car. Like any coin has back side, so this thing has its own.First, when charging your phone from the cigarette lighter, you may see a subtle drop in the tachometer needle. This means that when charging, the load on your car's engine increases, which means more gas mileage. This is especially noticeable when the phone is used very actively during a trip. Secondly, this mode of using the phone negatively affects the electrical wiring system of your car, loading it to a greater extent. Thirdly, if you turned off the car by turning off the ignition, but leaving the key in the battery position, in order, for example, to continue listening to music, and did not disconnect the phone from the cigarette lighter, then now the energy to charge the phone is drawn from the battery, “running down” it.
We live in the twenty-first century, in a period of globalization and an incredibly developed world of high technology. Some smartphones and tablets are becoming more powerful regular computer, the screens are high resolution and show movies in HD quality. The memory of gadgets is already measured in hundreds of gigabytes. But the technology for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries is still standing still and it is difficult to see any global changes in this area.
Teenagers often have to listen to lectures from their parents about not using the phone while charging, or parents have a habit of forbidding their child to put the phone on charge at night. We decided to dispel these myths and tell you about the true functionality and operating rules of lithium-ion batteries in your gadgets.
- The first myth. “Using a charger from another brand will degrade the condition of the battery.”
To be honest, branded accessories that are different from your device cannot harm your smartphone or tablet. But counterfeits and chargers of unknown manufacture can harm your gadget.
Therefore, you should not use cheap or no-name devices to charge your tablet. Charging this way will cause the battery to take a long time to charge, or it will cause the battery to wear out faster and be damaged.
If you charge Lenovo smartphone branded charging from LG, nothing bad should happen.
- Second myth. "Use mobile device while charging is strictly prohibited!”
This statement is not true. Use your device as much as you want. It is quite difficult to harm it with prolonged use. If you still use a cheap “charger”, then frequent use of the device will take away that little energy that has accumulated when charging with a low-quality charger
It is unlikely that your smartphone will explode while charging. It can only get very hot. This happens especially often with smartphones that have just been purchased and the battery has not yet had time to wear out.
- The third myth. “Overnight charging of a smartphone significantly wears out the battery and harms the device.”
In fact, the smartphone itself knows what to do when it is fully charged. As soon as the battery in the smartphone reaches one hundred percent, special controllers stop the charging process. That is, if your phone is fully charged, then its stay on charge will be no different from if it were in your pocket or on your nightstand. We do not recommend charging your smartphone every night. Keep your phone charged between 40 and 80 percent.
- The fourth myth. “Mobile devices do not need to be turned off and rebooted”
Smartphones are devices without which it is difficult to imagine a modern person. Machines must satisfy our needs almost everywhere and always. But rest will never hurt your electronic pet. To make your smartphone battery last longer, you need to turn it off at least sometimes. For example - at night or when you go to the shower.
- Fifth myth. "Do not charge the device until it is completely discharged"
This may have been true in the past, but now lithium-ion battery technology allows you to charge your device even when it's only half-dead. If you constantly discharge your smartphone to zero, then you risk that the battery in your smartphone, laptop or tablet will wear out very quickly. Each lithium-ion battery has a certain number of charge and discharge cycles for the device. When you discharge it completely, you reduce the number of these cycles.
In addition to the myths mentioned above, I would like to mention one very important fact.
Remember! High temperatures destroy the battery of your mobile device!
This statement is the absolute truth. Tablet PCs, laptops, smartphones, universal e-readers are afraid of high temperatures. If they overheat, they may freeze. Although, such gadgets are also not friendly with low temperatures.
The permissible battery temperature of your device should be between 10-20 °C.
In high or low temperatures, the mobile device will certainly work, but the battery life will be significantly reduced.
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