Battery type
— Ni-Cd (nickel-cadmium). The oldest of the options found in modern vacuum cleaners. It features high reliability, resistance to temperature extremes and good charging speed even with high capacity. The main disadvantage of this type of battery is a memory effect — a decrease in battery capacity if it is charged without being completely discharged. In addition, Ni-Cd batteries are considered environmentally unsafe. However, they are still widely used because of their low cost and decent performance.
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Ni-Mh (nickel-metal hydride). Further development and improvement of the nickel-cadmium batteries described above. While having the same basic advantages, Ni-Mh batteries are not affected by the memory effect and are safer to manufacture. Their disadvantages are the higher cost and somewhat shorter service life compared with the original Ni-Cd technology.
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Li-Ion (lithium-ion). A type of battery originally developed for use in portable devices. However, with the development of Li-Ion technology, it has been applied to other industries. The main advantage of such batteries is their high capacity with small dimensions and weight. It is also worth noting that they are not subject to the memory effect and can charge quite quickly. On the other hand, this option is not without its drawbacks — it is, first of all, sensitive to too low or elevated temperatures and a high price.
...— Li-Pol (lithium polymer). An improved version of the lithium-ion technology described above allows even more compact yet high-capacity batteries. The reverse side of these advantages is higher cost and increased sensitivity to low temperatures. However, for batteries used in vacuum cleaners, the latter is not critical.Charging time
The time required to charge the cordless vacuum cleaner fully (see "Power supply").
Larger batteries tend to take longer to charge. On the other hand, modern batteries can use various solutions that speed up the process, so there is no strict dependence here.
Separately, we note that the speed of charging batteries is usually uneven: at first, the process is fast, then it gradually slows down. So if, for example, the specifications indicate a charging time of 2 hours, then charging from 0 to 50% will take a little less than an hour, and from 50% to 100% the remaining time.
Charging station
A feature found in battery-powered vacuum cleaners - most robots, as well as some upright models (see "Type").
The charging station combines the functions of a charger and a storage device. Its specific design may be different. Robots are equipped with a floor docking station; most of these devices can remember the location of the station and, if necessary, return to it on their own — for recharging or at the end of the program. In other types of vacuum cleaners, the charging station usually is wall-mounted. The vacuum cleaner hangs on it while connecting to a power source to charge the battery. Some of the wall attachments can also be used to charge the battery removed from the vacuum cleaner. However, we emphasize that traditional chargers that do not provide for hanging on the wall and fixing the entire vacuum cleaner are not considered charging stations. Less common are floor-standing charging stations for upright vacuum cleaners and desktop docking stations for charging portable (handheld) models.
In any case, this function is almost standard for robots, but upright and handheld household vacuum cleaners equipped with a charging station, in general, are quite advanced and expensive devices.
