The Voltaic “Generator” solar panel laptop bag can generate up to 14.7 watts, not bad! – [via] Link.
8 thoughts on “Voltaic solar bag”
robtsousays:
Does anyone else have a problem with leaving their laptop out in the sun all day in a bag or not? I mean I like the idea of being able to charge off the grid but it seems that the heat would be detrimental to the equipment.
Gregsays:
robtsou, I guess that this bag would dissapate that heat energy in question by converting it to electrical energy to some degree, thereby having a slightly lower internal temperature than just a black bag in the sun. Im not too sure, but it would be interesting to find out.
haineuxsays:
I have a problem — it’s SIX HUNDRED BUCKS..
14+ watts is pretty respectable. It seems they are using the latest, best-est solar cells available, to produce that much juice in that size bag.
But it’s still SIX HUNDRED BUCKS.
If my laptop took 100 Watt Hours to recharge (which is reasonable), that means that at the ridiculously high cost of electricity in California (12 cents per kilowatt hour), one recharge costs 1.2 cents. (In many places, electricity is half the price.)
Call it 2 cents just to be extreme. Maybe you have a 19″ laptop with a crappy charger that gets hot enough to keep your coffee fresh.
Six hundred bucks is the cost of THIRTY THOUSAND wall socket recharges.
Put it another way: Let’s assume this bag lasts for TEN YEARS and I recharge my laptop every single day. That’s 3653 recharges (rounding up for leap years). That’s 16 cents per recharge.
This bag is still EIGHT TIMES as expensive as the wall socket, and far less convenient.
If it were twice as expensive as wall electricity, that’d really do it for me.
So get this bag to cost $150 and I’ll buy one.
Oxyacetylenesays:
The price is way too steep for me. You can buy a stand alone panel for much less and make your own solar charger. Great concept though…maybe someone will post an article on Making your own!
Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. In addition, we use third-party cookies to help us analyze and understand usage. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. Your choice here will be recorded for all Make.co Websites.
Allow Non-Necessary Cookies
Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!
Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).
Does anyone else have a problem with leaving their laptop out in the sun all day in a bag or not? I mean I like the idea of being able to charge off the grid but it seems that the heat would be detrimental to the equipment.
robtsou, I guess that this bag would dissapate that heat energy in question by converting it to electrical energy to some degree, thereby having a slightly lower internal temperature than just a black bag in the sun. Im not too sure, but it would be interesting to find out.
I have a problem — it’s SIX HUNDRED BUCKS..
14+ watts is pretty respectable. It seems they are using the latest, best-est solar cells available, to produce that much juice in that size bag.
But it’s still SIX HUNDRED BUCKS.
If my laptop took 100 Watt Hours to recharge (which is reasonable), that means that at the ridiculously high cost of electricity in California (12 cents per kilowatt hour), one recharge costs 1.2 cents. (In many places, electricity is half the price.)
Call it 2 cents just to be extreme. Maybe you have a 19″ laptop with a crappy charger that gets hot enough to keep your coffee fresh.
Six hundred bucks is the cost of THIRTY THOUSAND wall socket recharges.
Put it another way: Let’s assume this bag lasts for TEN YEARS and I recharge my laptop every single day. That’s 3653 recharges (rounding up for leap years). That’s 16 cents per recharge.
This bag is still EIGHT TIMES as expensive as the wall socket, and far less convenient.
If it were twice as expensive as wall electricity, that’d really do it for me.
So get this bag to cost $150 and I’ll buy one.
The price is way too steep for me. You can buy a stand alone panel for much less and make your own solar charger. Great concept though…maybe someone will post an article on Making your own!