Whether you’re on the beach, trekking in the mountains or in a garden, you can charge your gadgets with portable solar panels. Here are the options:
Anything from ipod to mobile phone and computer can be charged using tiny solar panels that take no more
space than a book. Small foldable solar panels work exactly the same way as big ones , but have swapped the normal silicon for lighter and more energy-efficient CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide).
Charging bigger devices like a laptop computer might take a while, especially on a cloudy day. But there are different sizes of portable solar panels to accommodate. If you’re ready to spend a bit of money you can go for a flexible normal-sized panel — they are light, waterproof and foldable, to be transported anywhere you need power. They produce up to 10W.
And if that’s not enough, there are also solar jackets fitted with two small solar panels on the shoulders. The battery, no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, wires into all the pockets and can power more than one device at once.
Links
ICP solar for solar chargers
