Writer: Iris Sit

Nowadays almost everyone has a portable power bank, it is extremely convenient to charge your phone, laptops and wireless headphones anywhere you are. Now that our daily lives are inseparable with electronic devices, we need constant electricity to power the devices. However, power is finite in those traditional portable power bank, after a few hours of charging, the stored power will be used up eventually. Other than that, Hong Kong relies on electricity generated from fossil fuel, which will one day be fully depleted, and the situation of climate change will be worsened. On the contrary, solar energy is inexhaustible, which provides constant renewable energy to the device charging, how convenient! So why not give this eco-friendly alternative a try?

Currently, numerous solar chargers have been put on the market for public consumption. The rollable solar chargers, for instance, cater for both urban and outdoor use. They are designed as a scroll to minimise the weight and spacing they take up, and the solar panels are built from C.I.G.S. military-grade amorphous thin films (also known as C.I.G.S. solar cells), which make them flexible, waterproof and lightweight, therefore they can be easily rolled up. Other than that, C.I.G.S. solar cells are also user-friendly and suitable for daily usage as they contain high energy efficiency, longevity and low cadmium (a toxic material commonly found in solar panels). Moreover, these solar cells can function even during overcast conditions, which greatly enhance their efficiency and convenience. They are suitable for any harsh conditions like hiking, camping, boating etc., simply unroll the solar charger and lay it on the surface or clip it onto your bag, and it can charge itself by harnessing the sun. For the batteries, the charged up rollable solar chargers can charge a mobile phone 1-2 times. Although the batteries meet a satisfactory quality, the charging time of these solar chargers are no longer than traditional portable power bank, in fact, they only take 4-6 hours to be fully charged up using the solar panels and 2-3 hours using the USB charging outlet!

Next time when you go outside for a walk, lunch, or any other outdoor adventures, do consider putting a solar charger on your bag with you and let the sun do its work!

Sources:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1018909710/soul-solar-scroll-the-ultimate-solar-charger
https://soulinventions.com/pages/soul-solar-scroll
https://vanclan.co/portable-solar-charger/

Image Source:
https://soulinventions.com/pages/soul-solar-scroll

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