Can I leave the charger in the cigarette lighter. Do not charge your smartphone from a USB port: three reasons. How it works

How much electric current do you think a portable car charger draws when it is in standby mode (no devices are connected to it)? Do you think you are not consuming anything? You are wrong. Then a natural question arises, how much electricity does the mobile charger consume in the car in standby mode and is it enough to? There is no better way to know all of this and answer questions than direct measurement. Let's find out in more detail.

Many modern cars have USB connectors, with which you can not only connect a smartphone or tablet to integrate it with the car audio system, but also. True, the quality of charging from the factory USB connectors leaves much to be desired. The fact is that the power of electricity transmission in car USB connectors is very low. That is, by plugging the phone into the factory USB port, it will charge very slowly.

For example, in many cars, it can take 1 hour to charge a phone from scratch 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 a 12-V car cigarette lighter, telephones and other electronic devices are charged quite quickly. For example, some chargers are capable of charging your phone from zero to maximum in just 1 hour. But such a charging power of the device is suggestive. Does this fast charging harm the battery?

So there is reason to worry. After all, it is known that the faster the phone is charged,. In our case, electrical energy comes from the car battery. That is why there are concerns that a powerful car charger can affect battery charging. But if there should not be any problems with charging, because while the engine is running, the generator recharges the battery. But what happens when the car's 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, it consumes current even in standby mode? Will the device drain the battery in our absence? Let's find out by measuring the power consumption of the charger in standby mode.

We all know that a charger in a car is powered by a 12 Volt vehicle electrical network. Let's take a measurement at home. To do this, we installed a 12-volt power supply in the socket in order to simulate the voltage of the car's mains. 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 in standby mode only 14.2 milliampere (ma) ... Do you think this is enough to worry about the device running out of battery while idle? In most cases, no. Here's the proof.

A typical car battery typically contains about 40 amperes 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, then in order for it to completely discharge a 40 amp / h car battery, you will need2817 hours or 117 days... So if you use your car every day, you don't have to worry that the charger installed in the cigarette lighter in standby mode will drain the car 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, of course, it is better to disconnect the charger from the electrical network of the machine, since even a low level of electricity consumption by a portable charger during prolonged operation can still discharge the battery of the machine.

But in fact, plugging into a car's cigarette lighter shouldn't be more of a concern than other electrical systems that consume electricity around the clock. Believe me, if you leave your car in the parking lot for a long time, the alarm or keyless entry system will drain the battery faster than USB mobile charging. The fact is that the car alarm and the comfort access system in the car consume much more energy even in standby mode.

So, if you went on vacation and remembered that when you parked your car, you forgot to turn off the charger from the cigarette lighter, do not worry. If you have not left for more than 100 days, then it is unlikely that your charging will completely drain the car battery. Of course, if the battery in your car is old and not able to hold a charge for a long time, then a USB device in standby mode will drain the battery much faster. But if you left the car for no more than 1 month, then even the old battery will not have time to discharge before your arrival.

We live in the 21st century, in a period of globalization and an incredibly developed world of high technologies. Some smartphones and tablet PCs are becoming more powerful than a regular computer, screens are high-resolution and show movies in HD quality. The memory of gadgets is already measured in hundreds of gigabytes. But the technology of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries is still standing still and it is difficult to see any global changes in this area.

More than once teenagers have to listen to the notices from their parents that they cannot use the phone while charging, or that parents have a habit of forbidding their child to charge the phone at night. We decided to dispel these myths and tell you about the true functionality and rules for using lithium-ion batteries for your gadgets.

• First myth. "Using a charger from a different brand will degrade battery health."

To be frank, branded accessories that differ from your device cannot harm your smartphone or tablet. But fakes and chargers of unknown origin can harm your gadget.

Therefore, do not use cheap or unnamed devices to charge your tablet. Such charging will result in the battery charging for a long time or thus accelerating the wear and tear of the battery and destroying it.

If you charge your Lenovo smartphone with LG's proprietary charger, nothing bad should happen.

• Second myth. "It is strictly forbidden to use a mobile device while charging!"

This statement is not true. Use your device as much as you like. It is quite difficult to harm him with prolonged use. If you do use cheap "charging", 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 heat up very well. Especially often it happens with smartphones that have just been purchased, and the battery has not yet had time to "spread".

• Third myth. "Charging a smartphone at night dramatically 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 charging will be no different from if it was 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 shutdowns and reboots"

Smartphones are such devices, without which it is difficult to imagine a modern person. Machines should satisfy our needs almost everywhere and always. But rest for your electronic pet will never hurt. To make your smartphone battery last longer, you need to turn it off at least occasionally. For example - at night or when you go to the shower.

• Fifth myth. "Do not charge your device until it is completely discharged."

It may have been that way before, but now lithium-ion battery technology allows you to charge your device even when it's only half discharged. If you keep discharging your smartphone "to zero" all the time, then you risk that the battery in your smartphone, laptop or tablet will wear out very quickly. Each lithium-ion battery has a specific 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 indicated above, I would like to mention one very important fact.

Remember! High temperatures will destroy your mobile device's battery!

This statement is the purest truth. Tablet PCs, laptops, smartphones, universal readers are afraid of high temperatures. They may freeze when overheated. Although, such gadgets are also not friendly with low temperatures.

The permissible battery temperature for your device should be between 10-20 ° C.

In hot or cold temperatures, the mobile device will certainly work, but the battery life will decrease significantly.

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A few years ago, when mobile phones first entered life, charging a cell phone battery presented its owner with considerable trouble. Today, you can charge your mobile phone almost anywhere. One of these places 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 the charge of its battery and safely enjoying its capabilities, without fear of seeing a low battery level by the end of the trip. Thus, during heavy use of the phone, charging from the cigarette lighter is quite capable of maintaining the charge level without letting it go down.

Another advantage is just 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 for longer that day.

Another important pleasant feature of the ability to charge your phone from the 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 car mobile phone charger

Of course, car charging is a pleasant and convenient feature used today by almost every driver, for its advantages are undeniable. However, not every motorist knows that charging a phone from does not pass without leaving a trace for his car. Like any coin has a reverse side, this thing has its own.

First, when charging your phone from the cigarette lighter, you can see a subtle drop in the tachometer needle. This means that when charging, the load on your car's engine increases, which indicates an increase in gas mileage. This is especially evident when the phone is used very actively during the 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, now the energy for charging the phone is drawn from the battery, "planting" it.

A smartphone in a car is an irreplaceable thing. Probably every car owner uses the device as a navigator. This is really convenient even when you know the way yourself. The application shows traffic jams, taking into account road traffic at the moment, it helps to draw up the best route, and also warns about cameras on the road. However, when using the navigator, the battery runs out quickly. Surely you have a charger in your car for this case.

Possible options for charging a smartphone in a car

1. Charging with USB outlets from cigarette lighter or 12V socket, and this is not 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 save the phone from possible breakdowns and overheating;
• secondly, Chinese counterfeits can be dangerous directly to car parts;
• thirdly, the original device has optimal voltage parameters and will provide fairly fast charging.

2. Alternatively, charge with a car radio. Almost all modern models of car media systems are equipped with a USB connector. You can connect a smartphone to it using a cable. In this case, the charging speed is low, but as an emergency option it may well fit.

3. There are cases when drivers prefer solar panels. For recharging the phone, the best indicators are 6V voltage and 4 Watt power. However, this is rather an interesting experiment. In practice, the solar panel will not charge the smartphone faster than the navigator discharges it. In addition, this design works only during the daytime.

Is it dangerous to charge gadgets in the car?

Although it has now become commonplace, in fact, charging the phone in some way contradicts the rules for operating the vehicle. To avoid unpleasant consequences for both the gadget and the car electronics, use only branded accessories. Often counterfeit adapters and cables lead to a local fire in the cabin.