Battery chargers

Looking for an energy-efficient battery charger?

A battery charger restores the charge in batteries found in all kinds of commercial and industrial machines like forklifts, scissor lifts, golf carts, mobile homes, yachts, and medical and telecommunications equipment.

There are three types of battery chargers on the market today that all have similar conversion efficiencies, but different peak electrical demands:

• Magnetic-amplifier chargers are rugged and therefore well suited for industrial use. They have the lowest peak electrical demand of the three types, but power loss is high and efficiency drops gradually through the charge cycle.
• Ferroresonance chargers have high peak electrical demands and moderate power losses.
• SCR-bridge chargers have the highest peak electrical demands and quite small power losses.
• For more information, check out our Buying and operating tips page.

Compare current models of battery chargers using our searchable product list.

Battery chargers and energy efficiency

Battery chargers use one of two types of technologies:

• Linear technology, which uses low-efficiency transformers and produces large, heavy units.
• Switch-mode technology, which uses switching circuits to convert AC input at a very high frequency. These units tend to be more compact, more energy-efficient and more tolerant of AC voltage fluctuation than those that use linear technology. They are also more expensive.