Note: This article refers to common battery types and sizes in household and light industrial use.

General

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Battery size generally refers to the shape, voltage, and anode/cathode layout of a battery. Thus the term "size" has become interchangeable with "type". Batteries of different types will usually NOT have the same dimensions and anode/cathode layout.

Battery Chemistry

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New battery chemistries have strained the original common naming conventions. In all old batteries the voltages were in increments of 1.5 volts, which reflected the number of individual cells in the battery. Newer chemistries such as rechargeable NiCd and NiMH typically output 1.25 volts per cell. Some devices may not run properly on rechargeable batteries, but most handle them ok. Other devices have exceptionally high drain rates and require a Lithium type battery to run properly. Many new battery sizes refer to both the batteries' size and chemistry, while older names do not. For a more complete list see battery types. This summary is only for types relating to battery "sizes" types).

Battery Chemistry Rechargeable (Charge Density Order)

Battery Chemistry Primary (Charge Density Order)
Chemistry	Cell Voltage	Comments
Zinc-Carbon	1.5	Inexpensive
Zinc-Chloride	1.5	Inexpensive
Alkaline (Zinc-Manganese Dioxide)	1.5	Moderate Energy Density Good for High and Low drain uses
Lithium (Lithium-Iron DiSulfide) LiFeS2	1.5	Expensive Used in 'plus' or 'extra' batteries
Lithium (Lithium-Manganese DiOxide) LiMnO2	3.0	Expensive Only used in high drain devices. 'Lithium' alone usually refers to this type of chemistry.
Mercury Oxide	1.35	High Drain and Constant Voltage Banned in most countries because of health concerns
Zinc-Air	1.35-1.65	Mostly used in hearing aids
Silver Oxide (Silver-Zinc)	1.6	Very Expensive Only used commercially in 'button' cells
Chemistry	Cell Voltage	Comments
NiCd	1.2	Inexpensive High/Low Drain, moderate Energy Density
NiMH	1.2	Expensive, High drain devices
Lithium Ion	3.6	Very Expensive Very High Energy Density Not usually used in 'common' battery sizes Very common in laptop computers

Brand Models

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Even more confusing is that many manufacturers assign their own names and numbers to their batteries in blatant disregard of Common, Colloquial, IEC, and ANSI naming conventions. Many times this is to steer customers towards their brand and away from competitors by obfuscating the common name for a battery. For instance, if your TV remote needs a new battery and inside the battery compartment it says, "Replace with CX472 type battery", many customers will get that specific type, which is a product model for a common battery from a specific company, not knowing that many other companies also make that exact same battery. In this article brand models have been purposefully omitted to avoid confusion.

Naming Notes

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• SR# / LR# / AG# Button Cells: IEC SR series batteries are Silver Oxide chemistry and have 1.55 volts, while IEC LR series batteries are Alkaline chemistry and have 1.5 volts. Since there are no 'common' names beyond the AG# designation, many places use these three terms interchangeably, and they will all fit and work. The only difference is that the SR series typically have twice the mAh as the LR series. In low drain devices like watches (without lights) this isn't very inportant, but in high drain devices like Blinkies, key chain flashlights, or laser pointers the SR type is prefered. Typically SR and LR will be the same price unless one buys in wholesale volume so there is no reason not to get the SR version. Often the free 'demo' batteries that come with a device are the LR version.
• IEC CR# series: Denotes Lithium-Manganese DiOxide chemistry. Since Li-MnO2 cells produce 3 volts there are usually no alternate chemistries for a CR# coin battery. Conversely one LiMnO2 cell can replace two alternate chemistry cells, in a 3, 6, 9, or 12 volt battery.
• Button / Coin / Miniature: In many places the designation between these there general types is blured, and are used interchangeably.

See also

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• 9 volt battery
• AAA battery
• AAAA battery
• LR44 battery
• Button cell

Links

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• List of Battery Sizes (The Small Battery Company)
• Energiser/Eveready Data Sheets
• Radio Shack Useful for cross referencing Common/IEC/ANSI and manufacturer numbers of batteries. NOTE: Sometimes there are small inaccuracies pertaining to button/coin cell battery names. These naming problems are industry wide.
• Battery Force Also useful, Same note as for Radio Shack.
• The relevant US standard is ANSI C18.1 American National Standard for Dry Cells and Batteries-Specifications.

References

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• IEC 60086-1: Primary batteries - Part 1: General
• IEC 60086-2: Primary batteries - Part 2: Physical and electrical specifications
• IEC 60086-3: Primary batteries - Part 3: Watch batteries
• IEC 60086-4: Primary batteries - Part 4: Safety of lithium batteries
• ANSI C18.1, Part 1 Portable Primary Cells and Batteries With Aqueous Electrolyte - General and Specifications
• ANSI C18.1, Part 2 Portable Primary Cells and Batteries With Aqueous

Electrolyte – Safety Standard

• ANSI C18.2, Part 1 Portable Rechargeable Cells and Batteries - General and Specifications
• ANSI C18.2, Part 2 Portable Rechargeable Cells and Batteries – Safety

Standard

• ANSI C18.3, Part 1 Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries - General and Specifications
• ANSI C18.3, Part 2 Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries – Safety Standard

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