Electronic – How long will a DS1307 RTC run on a CR2032 coin cell battery

coin-cellrtc

I have a homemade clock based on an atmega328 and a DS1307 Real Time Clock. When off, the DS1307 is powered by a 3V CR2032 coin cell, as usual.

If I leave the clock off most of the time, how long should I expect the coin cell to last?

I'm aware of the formulas for calculating the battery discharge time, but I'm probably failing at applying them right (I think). According to my calculations, it should last approximately 50 years based on 210mAh capacity of the battery and 500nA of current draw from the datasheet. But the current draw is so low that there must be other issues dominating the battery discharge rate.

So, does anyone have any better figures than I have? Any real experience? Did anyone's battery die before 10 years?

Best Answer

There are few factors:

1) As it was mentioned - battery self-discharge. I've checked few datasheets and it's 1-2%/year at 20-23C. If your device will stay in hot place (70C under direct sunlight for example) - it will self-discharge much much faster. Also, if device will be frozen accidentally - battery might be damaged and loose capacity.

2) PCB leakage - can reach hundreds of nA in case of severe surface contamination in wet conditions. If you manufacture PCB in good place, clean & completely dry it, and then cover it all (including chips) with some protective layer (polyurhetane or something) you can virtually guarantee no leakage through device life.

So, if leakage won't be an issue, no extreme thermal conditions - device will likely work for about 20-30 years.