Talk:Solar charger

Edit request
In the fifth paragraph of the "Solar chargers on the market" section, add the phrase "or power bank" after the phrase "on-board battery" and include the statement "Some manufacturers have also incorporated solar chargers into tables, allowing them to have more than one function" (refs provided in the collapsible section below). This is to further illustrate the different capabilities of solar chargers on the market.

Portable solar chargers are used to charge cell phones and other small electronic devices on the go. Chargers on the market today use various types of solar panels, ranging from thin film panels with efficiencies from 7-15% (amorphous silicon around 7%, CIGS closer to 15%), to the slightly more efficient monocrystalline panels which offer efficiencies up to 18%.

The other type of portable solar chargers are those with wheels which enable them to be transported from one place to another and be used by a lot of people. They are semi-public, considering the fact that are used publicly but not permanently installed. A good example of this kind of portable solar charger is the Strawberry Mini device.



The solar charger industry has been plagued by companies mass-producing low efficiency solar chargers that don't meet the consumer's expectations. This in turn has made it hard for new solar charger companies to gain the trust of consumers. Solar companies are starting to offer high-efficiency solar chargers. When it comes to permanently installed public solar chargers, Strawberry energy Company from Serbia has invented and developed the first public solar charger for mobile devices, Strawberry Tree. Due to a built in rechargeable battery which stores energy, it can function without sunshine or at night. Other companies such as Voltaic Systems, Poweradd and others have started to push better products onto the market as well.



Portable solar power is being utilized in developing countries to power lighting as opposed to utilizing kerosene lamps which are responsible for respiratory infections, lung and throat cancers, serious eye infections, cataracts as well as low birth weights. Solar power provides an opportunity for rural areas to "leapfrog" traditional grid infrastructure and move directly to distributed energy solutions.

Some solar chargers also have an on-board battery or power bank which is charged by the solar panel when not charging anything else. This allows the user to be able to use the solar energy stored in the battery to charge their electronic devices at night or when indoors.Some manufacturers have also incorporated solar chargers into tables, allowing them to have more than one function.

Solar chargers can also be rollable or flexible and are manufactured using thin film PV technology. Rollable solar chargers may include Li-ion batteries.

Currently, foldable solar panels are coming down in price to the point that almost anyone can deploy one while at the beach, biking, hiking, or at any outdoor location and charge their cellphone, tablet, computer etc. As advances in the technology continue to be made, new products will be able to be expand into third world countries faster than ever before. Recently, billionaire Elon Musk unveiled a new battery system that may allow off-grid systems that rely solely on solar power to recharge them to be deployed anywhere on the planet, thus possibly ending the need for strictly grid-based energy systems.

Davykamanzi → talk • contribs • alter ego 20:27, 7 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Not done, a power bank is a battery, and the existance of a solar charger in a table is just not noteworthy enough to mention. – Thjarkur (talk) 23:23, 7 September 2020 (UTC)
 * If not in the "Solar chargers on the market" section, would it be possible to include a picture of a solar table included in the Gallery as part of an illustration of different types of solar chargers in that section?


 * Davykamanzi → talk • contribs • alter ego 09:24, 9 September 2020 (UTC)