“84 % of French people find badly of their batteries”: what an alarming study reveals
A smartphone burning during its recharging: an overheating linked to prolonged use or an unsuitable charger can cause thermal runoff. © Shutershock
A study carried out for prevention insurance by the Calyxis Institute on April 16 and 17, 2025 (1,000 people interviewed online, representative sample of the adult French population) lifts the veil on a worrying paradox. Although 89 % of French people say they know the risks linked to batteries, 84 % recognize regularly adopting dangerous behavior. In question: the daily and poorly framed use of lithium-ion batteries, omnipresent in homes.
A dense park, failing practices
88 % of French people let their aircraft discharge less than 20 %, 83 % use them during recharge, 66 % load them at night, 48 % leave them in charge in their absence, 22 % use an unlimited charger.
The study lists on average 19 battery products per household: smartphones, laptops, scooters,, Connected watches,, electric bikes,, external batteries… A park as dense as it is poorly monitored, in which bad habits accumulate. These figures, extracted from a representative survey, describe a constellation of harmless gestures – but which, put end to end, expose to structural risks.
Leaving a battery emptying entirely, soliciting it during recharging, connecting a device to an incompatible charger or still maintaining an unopensed night load are all factors recognized to promote the warming, premature wear of cells or, in the worst of cases, thermal runaway.
And if each of these gestures may seem in isolation harmless, their generalization in domestic environments often unsuccessful mechanically multiplies the probabilities of incident.
Atterie inflated on a smartphone: classic sign of internal degradation, often caused by overload, excessive heat or chemical aging. A danger to never ignore. © Shutershock
Real incidents, but under-declared
10.7 % of French people have already experienced an incident involving a battery; 21 % of these incidents caused a fire.
10.7 % of respondents have already been victims of an incident linked to a battery. In 21 % of cases, it was a fire departure; In 12 %of a bodily injury. Smartphones (46 %), laptops (10 %) and external batteries (7 %) come to the top of the products implicated. If these figures may seem low, firefighters regularly alert on the intensification of fire departures related to this equipment.
Known recommendations … but little applied
The study reveals a clear gap between the knowledge of good practices and their concrete application:
- 97 % of respondents know that heat is an aggravating factor,
- 91 % cite physical shocks,
- 80 % point to the use of non -original chargers.
A reality already well known to the authorities
Fire triggered by a smartphone in charge near an overloaded multi -power: accumulation of chargers, ambient heat and a defective device may be enough to trigger a domestic fire. © Shutershock
The health and consumption authorities do not discover the subject. For several years, they have observed a rise in domestic incidents linked to lithium-ion batteries. These very efficient cells have a major defect: in case of improper use, their thermal stability can be compromised.
Under normal conditions of use and maintenance, if the battery is in accordance, it generally does not have a risk. However, to date there are more than fifty accidents or fires due in particular to batteries of scooters and bikes.
The DGCCRF document insists on the gestures to adopt: use the original charger, never place the device on a flammable surface during load, monitor the rise in temperature, and above all – still too little respected – do not leave a trendy device without prolonged monitoring.
The risks exceed the simple fire. In case of combustion, a lithium-ion battery can generate toxic gases-in particular hydrogen fluoride (HF), extremely dangerous for the airways. This danger is now at the heart of the concerns of help. “Electric batteries produce very toxic gases in the event of a fire”recalls the National Federation of Firefighters of France, which the extreme dangerousness of fumes linked to these fires, echoing a recent drama.
72 % of interviewees say they feel badly informed about good batteries.
Good practices to recall
The experts interviewed agree on a few key gestures to adopt:
- Maintain the load level between 20 % and 80 %.
- Do not use a device while it loads.
- Monitor any device in charge, especially at night.
- Use only certified chargers (EC standard, equivalent power).
- Never load a damaged or curved battery.
- Recycute properly in dedicated points (in recycling center or specialized store).
Towards a stricter regulation?
The study also points to the lack of standardization in the information provided to consumers. Absent or incomplete user manual, unplacessed pictograms, or not reported voltage incompatibilities: manufacturers, although subject to the European RED directive, often remain little pedagogues on battery safety. A redesign of labeling requirements could be under study within the framework of the new regulations on batteries adopted by the European Parliament in 2023.
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