what is trickle charge? sorry for the silly question. I just can’t really understand it even after reading it over and over again. I need someone to explain it to me like I’m a toddler literally
In: Technology
Batteries don’t hold a charge forever. Left sitting there, they will drain a small amount of energy over time despite not having anything connected to them. Power just sorta… leaks out…
“Trickle charging” is the practice of leaving a battery plugged in to compensate for this, allowing that loss to be eliminated and the charge held at 100%. The amount of power consumed is so tiny it usually doesn’t matter, and you trickle power back into the battery to make up for what leaks out.
(Side note: It is worth noting that whether this is a good idea depends on the battery type. Lithium Ion batteries, it turns out, don’t like being at 100% charge very much and will last longer if kept low. In an ideal world, for something like a power bank, you should store them at about 50% charge, and just before you need them, charge them up and then take them with you. When done, charge them back up to 50% for storage again. Whereas for a car battery, keeping it at 100% is a good thing and if you don’t plan to use the car, putting its battery on a trickle charger is probably the right idea.)
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