The solar mobile charger is an increasingly popular tool, which has helped many people out of tight spots. It uses the power of the sun itself, converting photons that strike the photosensitive cells on its array into electrical current. This can then be used to charge a mobile phone. There are a variety of different versions, each designed to work for their particular make of phone, plugging in as a normal charger would. There are even some which can vary the voltage of their output, making them versatile and adaptable to any make and model.
This is especially useful if you’re on a trip, or away from home for a long time. Consider for a moment just how useful a mobile phone can be. Apart from the obvious advantages of communication wherever you go (or at least wherever you can get signal) modern phones can do a LOT more than that.
Most modern phones are equipped with GPS, for instance. If you’re in the countryside, or somewhere unfamiliar away from home, having GPS can mean the difference between finding your way to home or to shelter quickly and confidently, and being lost for a long time indeed. There are even people who have managed to communicate with mountain rescue teams through their phones, and to provide life-saving information on their location, because they had a working phone with them.
Now, for most people, you aren’t likely to be caught in a blizzard on the side of a mountain any time soon, but running out of charge on your phone when you’re out somewhere you can plug it in is at least an inconvenience to anyone. It’s easily done, too- I’m sure everyone’s forgotten to plug their charger in at some point!
The solar mobile charger can go where you go, and will quickly and cheaply recharge your phone for you. It does need direct sunlight to work, so it won’t be any good if your phone suddenly cuts out during that 3am phone call, but it’s a convenient way to know that if you run out of power, there is a way to get your phone back up and running. It can take quite a long time to recharge a phone to full, but a lot of the time you’ll only want to get it up and running to an emergency level. The other consideration with this, of course, is that the energy you’re using is free!
Electricity efficiency is a massive issue for mobile phones- you may not be aware, for example, that the mobile phone industry is regarded as one of the most inefficient users of energy. Mobile phone chargers which are always plugged into the mains are a massive drain on the grid, and are often using energy unnecessarily. Even whilst there is no phone attached, a standard mains charger will be drawing about 0.1-0.5 watts. That may not sound like much, but over time this can add up. A solar mains charger stops that.
