Wireless charging
Introduction of Wireless charging
Wireless charging eliminates the cable typically required to charge mobile phones, cordless appliances and so on. With a wireless charger, the battery inside any battery-powered appliance can be charged by simply placing the appliance close to a wireless power transmitter or a designated charging station. As a result, the appliance casing can be made completely sealed, even waterproof. Besides the inherent convenience it offers, wireless charging can also greatly enhance reliability, since the charging plug on the side of an appliance can suffer mechanical damage easily, or simply by someone inadvertently plugging in the wrong adapter. The underlying principle behind wireless charging is the well-known Faraday’s law of induced voltage, commonly used in motors and transformers.
What is wireless charging?
Wireless charging is a convenient and cable free way to charge devices. It works by transferring power from the charger to a receiver in the back of the phone via electromagnetic induction.
The benefits of wireless charging
Over the last few years wireless chargers have gain popularity in the market, anticipated to grow at a significant CAGR of 19.8% during forecast period (2021-2027). With the global pandemic over the last few years companies all over the globe have adapted their work structure to implement working from home to meet government safety rules and regulations. This has increased the demand for electronic devices for employees to complete their work and meetings online and for uninterrupted excess of these devices, the demand for wireless charging has grown.
Benefits of wireless charging?
1, Convenience: charge your phone anywhere, anytime. No need to untangle cords or find the right connector, plus less cords means less clutter on the desk.
2, Safety / Performance: less cords mean less electrical faults. Most wireless chargers are smart which means they can automatically turn off once devices are fully charged to stop overheating.
3, Form factor: innovative design with multiple uses. Wireless chargers can be disguised as vases or even lamps.
Applications of Wireless Battery Charging
1, Smart Phones, Portable Media Players, Digital Cameras, Tablets and Wearables: Consumers are asking for easy-to-use solutions, increased freedom of positioning, and shorter charging times. These applications typically require 2 W to 15 W of power. Multi-standard interoperability is preferred. Wireless charging can coexist with NFC (Near Field Communication) and Bluetooth, allowing for very creative solutions. For example, paired phones can charge each other up when placed back-to-back, after they negotiate the appropriate host and client.
2, Accessories: Headsets, wireless speakers, mice, keyboards and many other applications can benefit from wireless power transmission. Plugging charging cables into the tiny connectors of ever-shrinking devices is an impediment to robust design. For example, Bluetooth headsets need to be sweat-proof to survive in a gym environment. Only wireless charging can enable that possibility.
3, Public Access Charging Terminal: Deployment of charging pads (transmitters) in the public domain requires systems to be safe and secure. But smart charging systems can go well beyond stand-alone charging solutions. They can enable quick network-connectivity and create billable charging stations if desired. Many coffee shops, airport kiosks and hotels support these scenarios. Furniture manufacturers also design-in discreet wireless power transmitters into their end and side tables.
4,Computer Systems: Laptops, notebooks, ultra books and tablet PCs are all candidates for wireless charging as either hosts or clients. The possibilities are endless.
5,In-Cabin Automotive Applications: A wireless charger is ideal for charging mobile phones and key fobs by placing them either on the dash or the center console of the car, without inconvenient wires going to the cigarette lighter socket. Moreover, since Bluetooth and Wi-fi require authentication to connect phones to car electronics, combining NFC with wireless charging can enable the user to not only charge the phone, but to automatically connect it to the car’s Wi-fi and Bluetooth networks without going through any specific setup process.
6,Electric Vehicles: Smart charging stations for EVs (electric vehicles) are also coming up, but require much higher powers. Standards are under development.
7,Miscellaneous: Wireless chargers are finding its way into anything with a battery inside it. This includes game and TV remotes, cordless power tools, cordless vacuum cleaners, soap dispensers, hearing aids and even cardiac pacemakers. Wireless chargers are also capable of charging super capacitors (super caps), or any device that is traditionally powered by a low-voltage power cable.
Wired Charging Vs. Wireless Charging: Which is Better and Why?
The growth in the popularity of wireless technology has spurred a great debate over the utility of wireless charging technology and why it hasn’t been able to completely replace the wired charging technology. The wired charging technology has been firm in its ground due to the various advantages it offers including fast charging, safety, etc. However, some of the disadvantages of wired charging technology can bring about the fall of its supremacy in a short span of time.
Why Wireless Charging is Gaining Popularity?
Wireless charging in the recent years have gained a lot of popularity especially after the boom of ‘smart devices.’ Be it smartphones or smartwatches, wireless charging technology has been adopted by a large section of “tech-savvy” population to charge these devices. This shift has taken place primarily due to some basic advantages of wireless charging technology over wired charging. They are:
Convenience
The biggest advantage associated with wireless charging is that of convenience. Wireless charging is much more convenient than wired charging for obvious reason of no involvement of long charging cords. Also, wireless charging technology makes the issue of having specific charging pin types for specific devices, redundant. In wireless charging technology, all you have to do is to put the device to be charged on the charging pad.
No Wear and Tear
Since charging chords are not needed in wireless charging, the issue of wear and tear of these charging chords and charging ports is effectively nullified. Wireless charging is thus advantageous over wired charging in that it increases the life of the electronic gadget.
Simultaneous Charging of Multiple Devices
Wireless charging has one more advantage of allowing charging of multiple ‘smart’ devices simultaneously. Since there are different charging pin types for different devices, carrying different chords for these pin types becomes cumbersome. Also, different chords mean that these devices can’t be charged at ones. Wireless charging solves this problem with a one-size-fits-all type of solution. A single charging pad can charge multiple devices, that too of different pin types, simultaneously.
Safety
Absence of charging chords also helps in reducing the risk associated with them in terms of electric shocks and exposure to electric sockets and connectors. Wired charging techniques have had this problem of transmitting unwarranted electric currents outside their mandated “zones”, in case of electric failures. Wireless charging is absolutely safe in this respect. Also, many people are skeptical of plugging their USB chords for charging their devices as they fear their data might be shared through these wires. Wireless charging allays these fears too.
Consumers Seek Wireless Charging On the Go, New International Survey Shows
The survey of more than 3,500 consumers from the U.S., UK, Germany, China, Japan, India and Indonesia found that consumers are increasingly interested in having wireless charging at hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, public transportation systems like trains and taxis, and other public locations.
Key survey findings:
Interest in Qi charging beyond the home is surging. The survey found interest in wireless charging outside of the home or office has grown across the board compared to the 2018 survey. Interest in wireless charging in hotels and other lodging increased 13 percentage points, while restaurants increased 17 percentage points. Public entertainment venues such as stadiums increased 12 percentage points and coffee shops increased 10 percentage points.
Faster wireless charging is a common request. Consumers said they generally love wireless charging, with 85% of users reporting they are pleased with the experience. While 83% said they are satisfied with the speed of wireless charging, a majority (53%) said they would also like to see continued improvements to charging speeds.
Battery anxiety remains high. Consumers continue to experience high battery anxiety, with 73% experiencing it at least once a week. Better access to wireless power, particularly while on the go, may offer new opportunities to alleviate that anxiety. Non-users of wireless charging said that not needing to worry about running out of battery power is a key driver of interest in purchasing a wireless charger, as is the convenience of not having to carry cords or a charger. As wireless charging is available in more and more public places, battery anxiety may soon begin to decrease.
Wireless charging familiarity is better than ever. While overall familiarity remained steady at 89% compared to last year, 51% now consider themselves “very familiar” with the technology compared to 44% last year. As consumers continue to replace older phone models with newer models equipped with Qi-Certified wireless charging, this trend will likely continue.