James White of the product review YouTube channel Freakin’ Reviews performed a test to figure out which battery brand lasts longest. He pitted three cheap AA battery brands — Sunbeam High Drain, Panasonic, and a generic CVS brand — with three more pricey options — Duracell, Energizer Ultimate Lithium, and Duracell Quantum. His simple test involved the batteries powering a series of handheld fans at full speed and timing them to see which performed longest. After multiple rounds, White found that the Panasonic averaged the shortest amount of time at 2 hours and 33 minutes while Energizer kept going for the longest, with an average time of 7 hours and 10 minutes.
In between was Sunbeam at 4 hours and 13 minutes, the CVS brand at 4 hours and 25 minutes, the regular Duracell at 5 hours and 41 minutes, and Duracell Quantum at 6 hours and 53 minutes. While these results may not be especially shocking, it’s worth noting that the Quantum was the most expensive of these varieties, costing $6.99 while the higher-performing Energizer cost $6.29.
A similar test was conducted by Ontario Tech University researchers on the CBC Gem show “Marketplace.” Their experiment involved a variety of AA batteries tested at high, medium, and low drain scenarios to more accurately estimate their performance. While Duracell and Energizer unsurprisingly came out on top, the $1.25 E-Circuit Dollar Tree brand lasted nearly the same amount of time.
