by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
So far it would appear that there is a lot of talk and hype about such gadgets but not much substance to them. I have yet to see one of those chargers that, in our latitudes, actually does its job properly.
I have seen a number of those devices so far though have yet to get my hands on one of those for a proper test and review.
What I have seen so far, however, is definitely nothing to write home about, as none of those, especially not, as I said, our latitudes, where the sun is normally not high enough in the sky for most of the time and also not reliable enough.
All those solar chargers can do in places such as the UK, etc. is to give a small boost to a cell phone's battery and that is it.
While those chargers may work inf the sunny places in the south, such as the Mediterranean , the Middle East, Africa, Australia and such, in most of Europe and North America they are all but useless.
The same is also true, as I have found, with solar charged flashlights of all kinds.
While they charge well enough in summer in Britain, as long as the sun is in the sky long enough, come Fall, Winter and in Spring, however, and the solar panel just cannot produce enough energy to charge the batteries which may, or may not, be removable.
The same problem also exists with solar, aka photo-voltaic, cells (solar panels) on roofs here in the northern latitudes in those months.
Wind and water is a much more reliable source and that is why small wind is going to be very important in Britain, I should think, in the future. However, one cannot use wind and water with cell phone chargers of a portable nature really.
Having said that, there are some small wind-powered charges for cell phones on the market nowadays but, as far as I am concerned, they are only gimmicks really and of no real use. I mean, seriously, how long do you want to hold your arm up into the wind with one of those devices?
The truth is that very few of such things, aside from human-powered devices, are of use in places such as Britain and North America. Maybe someone could design one on the principle of the pedal-powered ones for the military radio communication, but small and the pedals be turned by hand, How about it, designers?
Time, methinks, to reevaluate those “green” gadgets.
© 2009
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