Warning issued to anyone buying AA or AAA batteries this Christmas

A warning has been issued to anyone buying batteries this Christmas – because it could end up costing you.

It’s a staple of every : your presents are unwrapped, the turkey is in the oven and then, suddenly, there’s a fight to find AA or AAAs to go inside every new toy, gadget or remote control that’s just been unboxed.

And it extends to decorations too, with many tree lights and fairy light strings using battery packs instead of mains electricity.

But batteries actually cost much more to run than your mains electricity, even after recent price rises.

Once the batteries need replacing in your battery powered Christmas lights, as one expert has pointed out on knowledge sharing site Quora, they will cost as much as 600 times more to run than using plug in mains powered ones – even with the cheapest Poundland batteries.

Posting on Quora, IT computer expert Paul Grimshaw said: “Are batteries cheaper than electricity? Well let’s work it out.

“After a very quick look on Amazon the cheapest AA Alkaline batteries I’ve noticed are Amazon’s own, selling at 40 batteries for £9. The capacity of Alkaline batteries varies depending on how rapidly you discharge them, but let’s assume we want the best possible bang for buck and so we keep the discharge rate per cell down to, say, 100mA.

“We can always use cells in parallel if we need a higher current. At this rate we should get 2Ah per cell, at an average voltage of around 1.25V. That’s 2.5Wh per cell, at a cost of 22.5p per cell. There are of course 1000Wh per kWh, so that works out to be 1000/2.5×22.5=£90 per kWh.

“Now I don’t know what you pay your electricity supplier per kWh, but 15p is typical for UK electricity pricing. So even these relatively low cost batteries bought in bulk are 9000/15 = 600 times more expensive .

“So the answer to the question is no, batteries are not cheaper, at least not compared with the domestic electricity supply.”

Of course, you won’t have much choice if you have a toy or gadget which only takes batteries.

But you can save money here too, by switching to rechargeable batteries. They cost more to buy up front, but then can be recharged 1,000 times each, costing a few pence to recharge each time – and it’s better for the planet, too.

Tech experts Maplin explained: “One of the benefits of rechargeable batteries is that they can be used multiple times, significantly reducing the number of batteries ending up in landfills. By choosing rechargeable batteries, consumers can play a part in conserving resources and minimising their carbon footprint.

“It’s not just the planet you’ll be helping, but also your wallet! Another one of the benefits of rechargeable batteries is that they can be used over and over again, so you won’t be forking out on new batteries every time your gadgets and devices run out of juice. If you look after them properly, rechargeable batteries will save you money in the long run!

“While rechargeable batteries may have a slightly higher upfront cost than disposable ones, investing in rechargeable batteries and a charger can result in significant cost savings over time. With proper care and usage, rechargeable batteries can last for hundreds, if not thousands, of cycles, providing value for money and reducing the frequency of battery replacements.”