Running a Desktop PC off AA Alkaline Cells
Summary
A recent experiment by ScuffedBits explores powering a desktop PC using 56 alkaline AA cells, revealing the challenges and feasibility of battery-operated desktops. The findings emphasize the importance of power conservation in battery-powered devices, sparking curiosity for future innovations.
Key Insights
Why are 56 AA batteries needed to power a desktop PC?
Desktop PCs primarily require 12V power, and each AA alkaline battery provides 1.5V, so eight batteries in series deliver approximately 12V. However, the PC's power draw, such as 0.9 amps observed in the experiment, demands high current capacity that a few batteries cannot sustain, necessitating 56 batteries configured in series-parallel to provide both sufficient voltage and current while handling voltage drop under load.
What are the main challenges of powering a PC with AA alkaline batteries?
Alkaline AA batteries experience rapid voltage sag under high current loads like 0.9A drawn by the PC, dropping from 12V to 10.8V quickly, and have limited current output compared to their capacity, making sustained operation difficult without many cells in parallel. Power conservation becomes critical as the setup struggles with efficiency and battery depletion.
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