Lipo Batteries
Understanding LiPo Batteries: Powering Your Drone Adventures
When it comes to powering drones, few options match the efficiency and performance of Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries. These compact, lightweight energy storage devices have become the go-to choice for drone enthusiasts and professionals alike, providing the necessary juice for exhilarating flights and capturing stunning aerial footage. In this blog post, we'll explore the world of LiPo batteries and their essential role in the world of drones.
The Powerhouse Behind Your Drone: LiPo Batteries Explained
LiPo batteries are a type of rechargeable battery known for their high energy density and lightweight design. They are widely used in various applications, including our unmanned aerial vehicles (Drones), camera systems, controllers, and just about anything that requires a high power input but requires a somewhat small footprint.
Why LiPo Batteries for Drones?
LiPo batteries are the preferred choice for drone power:
1. High Energy Density: LiPo batteries can store a lot of energy in a small, lightweight package, making them ideal for drones where weight and space are crucial considerations.
2. High Discharge Rates: LiPo batteries can discharge power rapidly, which is essential for providing the burst of energy needed during takeoff, high-speed maneuvers, and capturing rapid footage. High discharge is extremely crucial in our FPV platforms due to the aggressive nature of how they operate. Trading flight performance for flight time, it requires power to lift cameras at a rate that can defy physics.
3. Quick Recharge Times: LiPo batteries can be recharged relatively quickly, allowing drone pilots to get back in the air sooner. This is extremely important especially on production. Being able to quickly recharge batteries and have them ready to go in the other arsenal of batteries is great so production isn’t waiting for the drone to get back in the air.
4. Voltage Consistency: throughout the majority of a flight, LiPos typically provide consistent voltage output throughout their discharge cycle, ensuring stable drone performance. This is extremely noticeable when the cells are increased. For example, by a 6 cell battery on a smaller drone over a 4 cell battery, you will notice that the power is consistent until nearly the very end, whereas a 4 cell battery you will start to feel sag earlier on in the flight. The voltage throughout the flight will slowly decrease voltage as the battery is almost out of power, but the voltage of the battery will quickly return to a steady voltage when not in use.
Understanding LiPo Battery Specifications
key specifications found on LiPo battery labels, including:
- Capacity (mAh): MAh stands for the Milli Amp Hour capacity of the battery. This determines how long the battery can power the drone. Higher capacity usually means longer flight times. Too high of a MAh on a drone can increase weight where it is not needed though. Making sure you have just the right amount of capacity for each drone is crucial for the performance to weight ratio.
- Voltage (S): Voltage is the amount of volts that is stored in the battery. MAh is essentially the total amount of volts that are stored in the battery. The higher the cell, the more voltage there is in the liPo battery. Flying heavy weight payloads on our platforms usually require a higher voltage battery. The higher the voltage increases the amount of power into the aircraft. for our heavy lift platforms like our cinelifters, we usually require no less than a 6 cell battery, but it can go up to a 12 cell battery for heavier systems.
- Discharge Rate (C): Discharge rate influences the drone's ability to handle high-demand situations. usually, a bigger MAh battery can get away with a lower discharge rate since the battery is bigger, but smaller MAh batteries will require a much higher discharge rate to get the most power out of a small form factor.
Charging and Maintenance
Guidance on charging LiPo batteries safely and maintaining their longevity:
- Charging Safely: It is EXTREMELY Important that you follow the specifications of batteries and charge safely. it is extremely important to use a quality LiPo battery charger, monitoring the charging process, and to avoid overcharging. Overcharging a LiPo battery can be very dangerous by causing a fire. Absolutely do not charge LiPo batteries outside of your site.
- Storage Practices: Having LiPo batteries requires storage. when you return from flying, you want to get the LiPo batteries at a storage voltage as soon as possible. Storage voltage on all LiPo batteries is roughly 3.82v per cell. Keeping LiPos on a storage voltage will ultimately give you the best lifetime and performance out of your battery when it is time to charge them again. Storing batteries fully charged for long periods of time, or extremely depleted for long periods of time can create a safety hazard. Charged batteries when you are not using them is a fire hazard since the batteries have the max amount of voltage in them. If something were to happen to the battery our of your site, the battery can catch fire or start smoking if it is punctured or not treated properly. At the end of the day, if the batteries are not in storage voltage when not in use, the longevity of the batteries won’t be very long and you will start to see performance decreases over time.
Safety Precautions
Highlight the importance of safety when dealing with LiPo batteries:
- Avoid Over-Discharge: The dangers of over-discharging LiPo batteries, can lead to irreversible damage such as fires. Fires as we all know can damage property, put lives at risk, and create prolonged problems down the road. ONLY charge batteries to their spec range which is on the label of the LiPo from the factory.
- Storage Temperature: Always store your LiPos in a room temperature setting. Never store LiPos in direct sun that can overheat batteries causing them to become extremely hot.
Conclusion: Unleash Your Drone's Potential with LiPo Power
LiPo batteries are extremely crucial to drones and help us capture all the amazing shots that you see today. LiPo batteries are amazing pieces of equipment that allow us to capture the unachievable. Utilizing safety measures and treating batteries well, will never put you in danger. We Encourage drone enthusiasts to treat their LiPo batteries with care and explore the skies with confidence. We are not telling you specifically what to follow, and are not responsible for any LiPo battery issues or damages that you have encountered. We want to share the knowledge that have helped us do what we do and teach the world of drone enthusiasts and commercial pilots to safely fly!