Always forgetting to charge your cell phone? Soon you may not have to: The technology to make solar-powered cell phones already exists, and one solar researcher expects that he will have a deal with a major handset manufacturer within a year.
"There is a need for this kind of technology," Christopher Hebling told United Press International. Hebling is the department head of energy technology at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
"There is an increasing number of consumer devices with an increasing energy demand that is just not being met by conventional batteries," Hebling said. "There is a strong need to create energy while the device is in use, and solar is the easiest and least expensive way to do this."
The average 3G mobile phone needs about 2 watts of energy, while MP3 players and persona-digital assistants usually require less, Hebling said, making them perfect candidates for solar technology. Laptops probably will not go solar, however: "Laptops and solar do not fit together," Hebling said, explaining that the computers need between 20 and 30 watts to operate.
Solar-powered cell phones need only ambient light or halogen lamps to charge - you do not have to worry about finding a sunny place to keep your handset. And if you remember to expose the phone to light instead of keeping it in a bag or pocket, the battery's standby time will be unlimited, Hebling said.
"If the user is conscious [of making sure the phone is exposed to light], talk time can be significantly increased over that of a conventional battery," he said.
Hebling and the Fraunhofer researchers came to these conclusions during a joint project with Siemens in 2002.
"We tested the phones under real conditions, and if the customer is using the phone appropriately, it really makes a difference," Hebling said. The overall efficiency of the solar cells was around 20 percent, he said.
However, those users who are prone to dropping their phones have to be more careful with the solar-powered models.
On the one hand, the new phones would feature solar cells that are integrated into the phone's plastic surface, Hebling said. In other words, it is not going to be a tiny version of the glass photovoltaic panels on your roof stuck on the back of your phone.
But on the other hand, "silicon is fragile. It would be protected by a thick layer of polycarbonate, but if it's dropped, that could cause a crack in a solar cell or in a series connection," Hebling said. And because the solar cells are integrated into the phone's surface, this could mean buying a replacement if the cells are damaged.
The 2002 research project did not lead to solar phones on the market because "the market was not as booming as it is now," Hebling said.
The deal that he foresees signing within the year may come at his October Symposium on Microenergy Technology, he said.
And when will we see solar phones on the mass market? "I think five years is a reasonable time ... that's probably the right order of magnitude," Hebling said.
Solar-powered chargers for the traditional batteries in portable devices are already available, for those who cannot wait to make the switch.
The Netherlands-based company Soldius Inc., for instance, makes a small solar charger that can power iPods, cell phones, and Blackberries after three to four hours in indirect sunlight. The three-ounce charger models range in cost from $90 to $110, according to a report in Marketwatch.
London-based Better Energy Systems offers a similar product for $90, the report said.
Also available on the market are solar-powered chargers for AA and AAA batteries and solar-powered backyard lights and lanterns, the report said.
Although solar energy only accounted for 1 percent of the energy consumed in the United States in 2005, national initiatives like the recently introduced American-Made Energy Freedom Act aim to extend tax credits for residential and business solar investments that were put in place by 2005's Energy Policy Act.
The 30 percent credits in the 2005 bill are set to expire next year; the new bill would extend them until 2012, giving solar industries a boost while encouraging customers to go solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries of America organization.
Solar World: Solar cellular is near future
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