This May Be the Perfect Emergency Battery

With another season of extreme weather events upon us, it’s time to talk about batteries. These little things can mean the difference between darkness and light when the power goes down.

The problem is, batteries are often at their worst (as in, drained), just when they’re needed most. Especially the ones you keep around for emergencies.

Panasonic Energy Corporation of America thinks it’s come up with the right solution. The company has created the Panasonic eneloop Rechargeable to be the perfect emergency battery.

These little guys are designed to maintain 70% of their charge for up to ten years, and can be recharged up to 2100 times.

Panasonic said that the eneloop can be used in temperatures down to minus four degrees Fahrenheit, and provide up to 2000mAh (AA) and 800mAh (AAA) of power.

These are good specifications for reliable power for small devices when Mother Nature loses her cool. But how much do they cost.

We Googled around and found an “Eneloop Power Pack”, (2000mAh Typical, 2100 cycle, 8xAA, 2xAAA, 2 C size adapters, 2 D size adapters, and 4-position charger) for $33.79 at Battery Junction. That’s a bit steep, but it’s a pretty good emergency battery stash.

They also had a smaller “combo kit” (4x Eneloop AA + 4X C cell spacer + Eneloop 4-battery charger) for $16.90, under the Sanyo brand (Sanyo is owned by Panasonic). That’s not too bad, considering it comes with a charger.

This battery system would be a good bet for everyday use, as well as emergencies.