Use Lithium-ion batteries. They last nearly forever, and they don't corrode. Acid based batteries not only corrode, they also drop in voltage putting stress on the circuitry, Lithium ion batteries are more stable, and drop rapidly so while I suspect that the stress tends to be a non-issue, I can't prove it. The corrosion issue is enough to drive me to Lithium ion batteries.
Remote Maintenance
So here's a topic I haven't seen covered. How do you maintain your remotes? With all the gidgets, gadgets and gizmos we have, they all seem to have a remote. 9v, AAA, AA batteries in everything. Do you have a regular battery replacement plan, do you just check once in a while or do you wait until they stop working altogether and then replace batteries? And what about those leakers?