I don’t know about your office, but at ours, there’s an unexplained phenomenon going on. It seems that when LocknChargers step away from their desks to grab a cup of coffee or attend a meeting, they return to find their USB charging cables and chargers have vanished in thin air!

We get it. When your phone battery runs low, and you’ve left your cable and power supply at home, it’s hard to avoid the temptation of heading to the closest office for a quick charge. From smartphones to laptops, USB charging is everywhere these days. There are even rechargeable dog collars! But just because there’s an abundance of USB chargers and power supplies, that doesn’t mean they’re one size fits all. You would never grab an iPad power supply to charge a Chromebook. We’re here to explain the importance of matching the amps and voltage of a power supply to the product you’re charging, and why you should take notice of them on the tech specs of your charging solution.

Amps Go with the Current

First, let’s start with what an amp actually is. We’re talking electricity and electrons here, not guitars and concerts. When creating an electric current, it’s useful to be able to measure it. Electrical current is measured in ampere or “amps.” The quantity of amps tells you how much electricity is being drawn through the power cable.

Working with Voltage

For most mobile devices, the voltage to recharge the battery is typically five volts of direct current, shown as 5V DC. It’s critical to match the voltage of a power supply or charger to the device you’re charging. If the device specifications read “5V DC,” then 5V DC must be applied to the product. Apply more volts such as 12V, and you run the risk of destroying the device.

If you apply too little, the device won’t work. Think of your device as a flashlight with brand new batteries. When you turn it on, the flashlight is nice and bright because the batteries are at the correct voltage. As time goes by, the batteries start to drain and the voltage drops. The flashlight dims as it’s operating at a lower voltage and eventually, it will stop working. So the volts must be correct for a product to function.

Power Supply Considerations

A power supply or charger supplies current. Devices like mobile phones, tablets and laptops consume current and will take as much as they need. So if a product requires 2.1 amps, then the power supply should supply 2.1 amps or more. If the power supply provides more than 2.1 amps, the product will still only take 2.1 amps. If the power supply only supplies 1 amp, the device may fail to charge, or it will charge very slowly.

While it’s essential to match the voltage between the charger and the device, it doesn’t matter if the power supply or charger can provide more current then the device requires. However, providing less current will prevent charging or slow it down. A poorly designed charger can also prevent charging or increase the time it takes to charge. That’s why you should only use reputable manufacturers.

REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE

An iPad requires a charger capable of supplying 2.1 amps at a voltage of no less than 4.97V at the charger connector on the cart. Failure to provide this amount of current at the right voltage will extend the amount of time required to charge the iPad battery. This detrimental effect can be easily demonstrated by charging an iPad with an iPhone charger. An iPhone charger can only supply the iPad with 1 amp, which means charging will be dramatically slower. In the real world, imagine a student, teacher, nurse or maintenance engineer checking out an iPad in the morning that was placed on charge the night before. Likely, the iPad will still not be fully charged. If iPads and tablets are uncharged, students can’t learn, nurses can’t communicate, and employees can’t perform their jobs.

How to Safely Charge Multiple Devices

When you’re tasked with simultaneously charging multiple devices at once, obviously borrowing a charging cord and power supply from a coworker isn’t an option. That’s why LocknCharge offers the remote control ECO Safe Charge™ Power Management System. This intelligent programmable power management unit can charge multiple laptops and power other electrical equipment safely.

In our high capacity charging stations and charging carts, the devices can be programmed for a certain amount of time. If the device has built-in software, it won’t overcharge. If the device just needs a quick pick me up in the middle of the day, it will charge just as fast in its cart. You control how long you want your devices charged, and ECO Safe Charge will supply as much power as the device needs, regardless of how much of a charge it currently has. Other great benefits of ECO Safe Charge:

• Reduces the possibility of blowing a circuit when a Cart or Station filled with devices is plugged into a single outlet.
• The ECO-TIMER™ functions can reduce your energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions, extend the life of device batteries and reduce your power bills.

Don’t neglect the importance of reading the product specs when purchasing charging solutions to ensure that you’re charging at the correct rate for the devices you’re using. If the spec sheet doesn’t show the charging current for the device you wish to charge, be sure to ask the manufacturer.

If secure and efficient charging is important to you, check out our FUYL Tower smart lockers. All compartments contain a power outlet and a 2.4 amp USB port so you can securely charge almost any device, including iPads, tablets, laptops, mobile phones, Chromebooks and more!