When designing low-voltage, battery-powered systems, using the wrong wire size can have a significant impact on battery life and your project's overall performance. If your wires, nickel strips, or busbars, are too small, these things can themselves become a significant load. This situation can cause batteries to charge slower and. Current is measured in units called Amps, which are abbreviated as the letter A. There are 1000 mA (milliamps) in 1 amp. For example, an LED strip. Lithium-ion batteries can store quite a bit of energy. To be able to access that energy, a conductor must be used to connect the cells together in the best way for a given project. Nickel is the preferred conductor to connect. So, how do you know what size wires to use for your battery project? It can be confusing, but it can also be dangerous. If you don't use a large enough wire, the wires will become excessively hot under the intended load. And. Pure nickel is around twice as conductive as nickel-plated steel. Nickel-plated steel has its use cases, but nickel-plated steel should never be used for battery construction. The real problem is the fact that many online vendors.