The two types of cells are,
1. Primary Cells : the chemical action in such cells is not reversible and hence the entire cell is required to be replaced by a new one if the cell is down. The primary cells can produce only a limited amount of energy. Mostly the nonelectrolytes are used for the primary cells. The various examples of primary cells are zinc-carbon dry cell, zinc chloride cell, alkaline cells, mercury cell etc.
2. Secondary Cells : the chemical action in such cells is reversible. Thus if cell is down, it can be charged to regain its original stat, by using one of the charging methods. In charging, the electrical energy is injected to the cell by passing a current in the opposite direction through it. In such cells, the electrical energy is stored in the form of chemical energy and the secondary cells are also called storage cells, accumulators or rechargeable cells. These are used to produce large amount of energy. The various types of secondary cells are LEAD-acid cell, Nickel-cadmium alkaline cell etc. the most commonly used secondary cell is a Lead-acid cell or Lead-acid battery.