Why Are Drone Batteries So Expensive?

Today drones come in multiple shapes, sizes and usefulness. They are used by firefighters, police departments, entrepreneurs, engineers, photographers, videographers, and many other people from a variety of professions for their daily everyday work. Today it is no longer possible to live in a world without drones, as they are already widely used for numerous purposes. Although drones are widely available and used yet they have very expensive batteries. In the below section we are going to take a look as to why drone batteries are so expensive.

So why are drone batteries so expensive?

Drone batteries are expensive because of the technology that went into designing them and making them what they are today. Just as a Tesla battery is expensive, drone batteries are expensive, but on a smaller scale. 

If you want to know more about drones and drone batteries, you will want to keep reading this article. If you want to look at our favorite drones, you can see them by clicking here. 

Reasons why drone batteries are expensive

Most of the drones widely available today are for commercial or personal use, and have Lithium Polymer batteries also known as LiPo batteries. LiPo batteries are very powerful and are also expensive. This is because the LiPo batteries found on today’s drones are intelligent flight batteries. They even come with smart features. These smart features include their ability to give you updates on their status and also warning messages. These enhanced LiPo batteries found on drones give their pilots maximum functionality and it allows them to keep you safe all the while increasing the life cycle on their own and the drones they power.

Drone batteries are volatile and expensive and not all of them are manufactured in the same way. Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most common types of batteries found for drones. Lithium-ion batteries are packed with a lot of power given their small size, this means there can be short circuits or fires from these kinds of batteries. To avoid such accidents Lithium-ion batteries are made from the resilient casing which prevents leakages and keeps them safe even after a strong impact.

All these measures taken while manufacturing Lithium-ion batteries makes them expensive to produce. These batteries also contain Battery Management Systems (BMS) which prevents them from under-voltage and over voltage and makes them safe to use. This is very important as no one wants to use a battery that can possibly blow up and hurt them or ruin their brand new drone. 

Lithium polymer batteries or LiPo batteries also have their limitations. They are known to over-charge and over-discharge. They can also catch fire through short circuits leading to catastrophic accidents. They are also known to rupture and leak electrolyte. The good thing though, is that these incidents are very far and few between. This means when you purchase a drone this will not even cross your mind. 

Lithium polymer batteries have a high energy density, lighter weight and high discharge rate which makes them ideal for drones. LiPo batteries consist of cells and these cells are all interconnected to form one single battery. The higher the number of cells within a battery the higher is its weight and price.

Since drone batteries are expensive, we should try to increase or prolong their life cycle to save money and use them correctly. In the section below you will find 10 different guidelines that will help you take care of your expensive drone batteries and help you get the best service from your drone.

How do save money and increase drone battery life cycle?

• Always store the battery in a cool and dry place.
  
• Avoid charging your battery when they are hot.
  
• Never try to cool down your battery artificially by putting them in front of an air conditioner.
  
• Always charge the battery at the right time, do not let the charge drop below 15%.
  
• Always use a battery system with higher energy density.
  
• Never install or remove the battery from a drone which is turned on.
  
• Always try to use your official charger for your battery.
  
• Always try to get a drone battery with larger capacity that will help it to last longer.
  
• Decrease unnecessary load on your drone and increase battery life.
  
• Avoid inclement weather conditions and fly your drone conservatively to protect your battery life.
  

To save money and increase your battery life, you must first carefully choose the right LiPo battery for your drone and then use it wisely according to the 10 guidelines listed above.

Although there are many alternative power sources for drones, they are still not widely available in the market today for commercial or personal use. LiPo batteries still power most of the drones which you can buy today. Since these batteries are professionally made for drones and consist of built-in safety measures to avoid accidents, they are expensive to produce and because of this, they cost more.

Whichever brand of battery you may choose for your drone, be aware of our above guidelines to get the best value out of your battery and increase its life cycle.

Future of Drone Batteries

Today drones take part in many dangerous, entertaining, and essential activities. Although they might have expensive batteries without these batteries, none of these drones would fly and be able to perform its tasks completely without these special batteries.  So although drone batteries are expensive, they have a variety of good reasons to be so and we should not waste them unnecessarily.

With advances in technology and an increase in the use and availability of drones, their prices are likely to decrease in the future. Their price will also decrease because there are a lot of alternative power sources for drones except LiPo batteries. Although drones which use alternative power sources like solar power, diesel, hydrogen fuel cells, etc. are not widely available to be bought for use in the markets today, that might soon change.

This is because competition can increase and as many people are concerned with effective energy use and looking for efficient ways to use energy with low price alternatives they will look into these other energy sources. 

One thing to remember is that to increase the flight time of drones, we also need to provide them with enhanced power, and to achieve this, battery life and capacity need to increase substantially. A lot of research and implementation is being carried out by a variety of organizations including governments, commercial entities, and non-profit research organizations to find the right alternative or enhance the capabilities of LiPo batteries. This is an all around effort as everyone wants better batteries that can be used for longer and charge faster. 

Conclusion

Although drone batteries are expensive, there is a lot of technology that goes into making them. They not only are able to tell how much power they have left, but there are certain fail safes that they have integrated to make sure that if they become too hot, or unstable that they shut themselves off. Even though they may be expensive today, in a few short years, they may be cheaper, or even not used at all as technology changes.