The curious invention for recharging your mobile anywhere and without having a socket nearby

Mobile telephony has always been characterized by the possibility of being used away from home. Hence its usefulness. At first, cell phones were delivered in heavy suitcases, because battery technology did not otherwise allow for several hours of battery life. Some have even been integrated into cars. When they started to become popular in Europe and other countries, their price dropped and the batteries made it possible to use them for days, without having to connect them to the network.

It was before cell phones have become pocket computers. This multiplied the possibilities, but it made us forget about being able to recharge the phone once a week. We started having to do it even more than once a day. In recent years, the autonomy of mobile phones has increased, thanks to improved batteries and larger device sizes.

Despite this, it is very common to not make it to the end of the day in certain scenarios, such as when you are traveling or away from home for a large part of the day. That’s where portable batteries or chargers come in. But you’re not always in a place with access to an outlet. This is why chargers equipped with solar panels are so useful.

Chargers with solar panels

Cell phones were created to communicate anywhere, although coverage in the early years limited their use to large urban centers. There were no problems with autonomy there, because there was always an outlet nearby. Little by little, coverage has improved and it is currently even possible to connect via satellite in certain places where the mobile network does not reach.

This makes it possible to want to charge the phone in places where we normally wouldn’t think we would have to. For that There are chargers that use small solar panels to create the electricity needed to charge cell phones. They are certainly not the fastest in the world, but they offer often useful versatility.

An example is the Jooheli Solar Panel, which has four small solar panels and a USB-A port. A cable with this port can be connected to it and on the other end whatever is needed, normally a USB-C, but it can also be a microUSB or a Lightning for older iPhone models. The price is only 17.99 dollars, and it allows you to recharge up to 10 W.

Another option is the ELÉCAENTA which also has four panels, but larger, which also gives more power. This model can deliver up to 30W in total, having three different ports. It has a USB-C PD port that provides up to 18W, although it cannot be used with the other two ports at the same time. Its price is much higher, 69.98 dollars.

Another, much larger model is the Flexolar, which is designed to be used while camping or in static locations, due to its size. It has two panels capable of charging the mobile at 20 W of power with the included USB-C port or at 15 W with the USB-A port. The price is 49.99 dollars.

Batteries with solar panels

Another option for recharging your mobile without a socket is to use portable batteries, which we have previously charged. The problem is when those same batteries die and you have to find an outlet to recharge them. This is where they come into play. batteries with solar panels, which work in the same way as chargers. In this case, the plates fill the battery, even if the charging speed of the mobile is not faster.

These batteries are usually much larger than normal batteries, obviously, and are anchored to the panels that power them. If necessary, they can also be loaded conventionally. An example is this model Hiluckey 25,000 mAh, with four solar panels. It has two USB-A ports and one USB-C port. The maximum charging speed is 15 W and the battery is charged via the panels at 6 W. It costs 32.99 dollars.

Another model is the BLAVOR 10,000 mAh. It has a single solar panel located on one side of the battery. The special thing is that in the other there is a Qi wireless charger, so you can charge your phone wirelessly, as long as it is compatible with this technology. If you want, you can also charge via cable, with a USB-C connector also used to charge the battery itself. The price of this model is 27.99 dollars.

Other proposals

In the last few years, we have seen some of the suggestions that we did not have a viable farm form, like SOMO, a Spanish project that needs to create cell phones with built-in solar panels, even though it is permitted, in theory, we do not have to carry more the cellphone. This type of accessories has not yet become viable, so they are not an alternative to solar chargers or batteries with photovoltaic panels.

[Probamos el sistema de cámaras con batería infinita con placas solares]

Something similar is happening with the integration of the plates into the mobile phones themselves. This is something we saw 5 years ago and was tested for 15 years, but was not found to be effective at all. The limited space available and the need not to use the cell phone mean that, from a practical point of view, solar panels on cell phones are not a viable solution.