What is mah and what do you need to know about it?
Many people often search for ‘what is mAh’, especially when it comes to knowing how much power a battery can hold and how long it can run before it runs out. Typically, mAh (milliampere hours) is equal to one thousandth of an ampere hour. They are also used to assess the battery capacity of household appliances and gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, power tools and other wired appliances.
A mAh battery can deliver one milliampere of current continuously for one hour. For example, if you have a 2000mAh smartphone. When fully charged, the battery can hold 2000mA. if the phone draws about 200mA per hour, it should run for 10 hours. In this article, we will discuss the meaning of mAh in detail, including its importance and what the mAh on a battery means.
What is mAh (milliampere-hour)?
mAh is a unit of measurement of power over a period of time. But what does mAh stand for? mAh stands for milliampere hours. In other words, it is the amount of power a battery can hold or how long it can last before recharging. Let’s take a simple example to better understand what mAh means.
Think of mAh as the fuel tank of a car. The amount of fuel you can put in the tank represents the capacity of the tank. If the tank is bigger, you can go an extra mile before refuelling. Similarly, if the battery capacity (or mAh) is larger, the range between successive charges will be longer.
Knowing the mAh value in your battery will help you choose the best solar generator for your home or outdoor adventure. The simple formula for calculating the mAh value of a solar panel is:
mAh = Wh * 1000/ V or mAh = watt-hours * 1000/ volts
For example, if the battery has a watt-hour of 200Wh and a voltage of 5V, it may consume
mAh = 200Wh * 1000/ 5V = 40,000 mAh
In other words, a battery rated at 40,000 mAh can power a device that draws 400 mAh for 10 hours. Now that you know what mAh is, let’s learn more about the importance of mAh and how it differs from charge capacity in the following sections.
Importance of mAh
When choosing any battery powered device, mAh is the most critical factor to consider. But what is mAh in a battery? In layman’s terms, mAh is directly related to battery life.
Checking the mAh unit is necessary because it helps you understand how much power the battery can store and how long it can operate without recharging. To determine the correct mAh requirement, you should check the power consumption of your device.
For example, if you intend to use a solar generator battery for a large appliance such as a refrigerator, you will have to buy a solar generator with a higher mAh value. This will ensure that the solar device can run your appliance for hours.
However, it is worth noting that mAh alone does not tell you everything you need to know about the performance of your solar generator. You should consider other factors such as the charge controller, inverter, solar panels, etc. to make an informed buying decision.
Expert Tip: If you’re thinking of buying a solar device with lithium-ion batteries, you need to know how much power you want to draw. For example, you may need a higher mAh battery to take your home off the grid, while a smaller mAh battery can be used during RV trips, short camping trips, and so on.
mAh and charging capacity
The mAh (milliampere hour) and charge capacity describe the battery capacity or the amount of power the battery can hold. Although they represent the same thing, they are used in slightly different contexts.
mAh is commonly used to describe the capacity of batteries in portable devices such as tablets and laptops. It is the unit that indicates the amount of energy any battery can store. On the other hand, charge capacity defines the capacity of batteries in solar storage systems and electric vehicles. It measures the amount of energy a battery can receive during a charging cycle. It is usually measured in kWh or Wh.
In short, charge capacity measures energy and mAh defines battery capacity.
It’s important to remember: capacity and energy are two different concepts. Ampere-hours are used to measure charge and define battery capacity, while watt-hours are used to measure electrical energy.
Now let’s discuss the relationship between mAh and charge capacity.
Watt-hour = mAh * Voltage / 1000
Let’s say you have a 10500mAh battery. This means that it can deliver a total charge of 10500mAh at a specific voltage. If the voltage at which the charge is exchanged is 3.7V. so in this case the total energy will be 10500mAh * 3.7V / 1000 = 38Wh (approximately).
What does the mAh rating mean?
The mAh rating is the storage capacity indicated on the battery. In other words, it represents the amount of fuel the battery can hold to power a device.
The formula: mAh rating is the product of milliamps and hours and can be abbreviated as mAh = mA * H.
An example for better understanding. Let’s say a battery is rated at 6V and has a capacity of 1500mAh. This means that the battery can supply 6 volts at 100mA for 15 hours (100mA * 15H = 1500mAh).
The higher the mAh rating, the higher the battery storage capacity.
What does the mAh on the battery mean?
mAh is commonly used to describe the capacity of a battery and is a unit of power. batteries with a high mAh value are measured in Ah (ampere hours), with 1 Ah = 1000 mAh. the higher the mAh value of the battery, the more power it can store. Therefore, only a battery with a high mAh value will run your device for a long time.
What does the mAh on a mobile phone battery mean?
The mAh marking on a mobile phone battery refers to the capacity of the battery in mAh (milliampere hours), and is therefore the most suitable parameter to indicate the amount of power stored in a mobile phone battery.
The formula for calculating smartphone battery backup time is:
Standby time = mAh rating / mA discharge current.
Let’s calculate how many hours a 2000mAh battery will last: for example, if you plug a 2000 mAh battery into a device that continuously draws 200 mA of current, the device’s runtime or standby time will be 10 hours. The device will run for 10 hours before the battery is drained.
What does mAh mean on a rechargeable battery?
Unlike disposable batteries, rechargeable batteries can be recharged again when they are depleted. They can be recharged thousands of times and can power high power consumption devices. The mAh on a rechargeable battery can be considered the same as a regular battery.
What does mAh mean on a car battery?
Generally, the mAh on a car battery indicates how long the car can be driven without recharging. It is a measure of how much power a car battery can hold.
The higher the mAh value of a car battery, the more storage capacity it has and the longer it will run. There are many types of car batteries, but the most common are lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries.
Lead-acid batteries have a capacity of mAh and can be recharged approximately 135-300 times. They have an extremely short lifespan and need to be replaced every 3-5 years.
Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, have a higher mAh value and a longer service life. Their mAh value ranges from 300-400 charge cycles and their service life is more than 5 years.
mAh to Wh conversion
Now that we’ve discussed the meaning of battery mAh, it’s time to learn how to convert mAh to Wh using a formula.
Watt-hours and mAh are commonly used to describe battery capacity.
Wh (watt-hour) is a unit of energy equal to one watt of power produced or consumed in one hour. It measures the total amount of power a battery provides to a connected device in one hour.
How to convert from mAh to Wh?
To convert mAh to Wh, you multiply the amount of power and voltage. Then divide the result by 1000 to get the watt hours.
The formula for converting mAh to Wh is:
E (watt-hours) = Q (mAh) * volts/1000
Where.
E is energy in watt-hours.
Q is charge in milliamp hours.
V is voltage.
Let’s calculate the watt-hours for a 1000 mAh capacity battery operating at 120 V.
Energy result in watt-hours = 1000 mAh * 120 V / 1000 = 120 Wh.
You can also convert Wh to mAh or mAh to Wh using a simple formula: mAh = Wh ÷ V x 1,000, where V represents the battery voltage. If you want to convert mAh to Watts, first convert mAh to Wh, then convert Wh to W.