3 Advantages to Non-Powered Carts

Learn how the right medical cart solution can save you time and money

It would be difficult to imagine a hospital operating without the use of medical carts. These devices are used to house medical devices, run anesthesia machines during surgery and are the heartbeat of nurse’s rounds. Not all carts are created equally, however. Fundamentally speaking, a hospital must first determine whether or not they are better off purchasing a powered cart or a non-powered cart. Traditionally, a powered cart was more functional. The large battery allowed the cart to power the computer and other peripheral devices. Non-powered carts were far more limited.

But hot swap battery technology has been a game changer. These types of computers run on batteries that can easily be swapped out for a fresh battery, without the need to power off the computer, leading to 24/7 run-time capabilities on a non-powered cart. With this technology available, here are 3 reasons why a non-powered cart solution is advantageous.

Extreme Cost Savings

There really isn’t much comparison when it comes to cost. A powered cart will cost around $5,000 vs. a non-powered cart which will cost around $1,400. Even when you factor in the fact that a battery powered PC will on average cost about $1,000 more than a standard PC, you’re still talking about a 40% savings on a total solution. Now multiply a $2,500 savings by 20 carts and you can quickly see why a non-powered solution is a big budget saver.

But the cost savings don’t stop there. With a powered cart, there are a lot more pieces that need maintenance, most importantly the battery itself. Replacement batteries for a powered cart will cost upward of $2,000. By comparison, replacement batteries for a hot swap computer will cost around $300. Over a 5 year lifecycle, the total savings approach $4,000 per cart on average.

Run Times

A cart is only effective so long as it is able to be used. Common sense, but it is a factor that isn’t always added to the equation. As the battery on a powered cart runs out it will eventually need to be plugged into a wall to recharge. And every hour that it is plugged into a wall is an hour that it is an expense rather than an asset.

By contrast, a non-powered cart paired with a hot swap computer never needs to be plugged into the wall so long as you have spare batteries to exchange. Even if you don’t have spare batteries to swap in and out on the fly, the runtime on a battery powered computer is roughly 60% longer. This means that the batteries need to be charged less often, leading to more productivity. But it also means that it will take longer before the batteries need to be replaced.

Lithium-Ion batteries start to degrade after 300 charge cycles. The more often you have to recharge a battery, the more quickly it starts to degrade.

Weight

Another advantage of a non-powered cart is weight. The batteries used in powered carts are very heavy. Powered carts can weigh as much as 50lbs more than a non-powered cart. This might not seem like that big of a deal until you consider the fact that nurses have to push these carts around all day and maneuver them around tight spaces in patient rooms.

Consider that 91% of nurses are women, and the average height for a woman is 5’5” and it quickly becomes easy to understand why weight is an important factor when choosing a medical cart solution.

There are a lot of reasons why a non-powered cart is an advantageous option. But it is important to pair it with the right medical grade computer.