desktops, and portable, too. Take them away for weeks on end,
and have access to all the same programs and applications. Its
freedom personified.
Unless you forget your charger.
For - as much as you can run around with a laptop - the things
still need to run on power. In the past, this would mean costly
electricity bills and products that consumed high levels of
energy.
But Uni-Solar are looking to change that with their 'Portable
Solar Electric Light Panels'.
The chargers come in several models. At the cheapest end of the
range is the 'UNI-PAC 10', which offers dual voltage charging
for 12 and 24V. It can be folded down to a size of 254mm in
length and 139mm in width, with a depth of 51 mm.
The 'UNI-PAC 15' and the 'UNI-PAC 34' both offer 12V power
systems, but can be compressed to smaller sizes. The final
folded sizes for the 'UNI-PAC 34' are still to be confirmed, but
the 'UNI-PAC 15' - whilst at the same width as the 'UNI-PAC 10'
- has a folded length of 236mm. It has a larger depth of 78mm.
Each model, then, can be folded into the size of a book, making
it a convenient and efficient eco-friendly product.
They were originally designed to meet military requirements,
and to be used in the field, so a hardy piece of equipment is
all but guaranteed. As their website details:
"Solar modules for remote applications must be tough,
lightweight and easy to transport. UNI-SOLAR UNI-PACs are
designed for the challenge of the field. They provide power even
with bullet holes or in partial shade. The UNI-PAC can be
dropped, stepped on, packed and re-deployed, and will continue
to operate."
It is unlikely that anyone buying the UNI-PAC for commercial
use will suffer bullet damage, but it still nice to know, and
certainly gives a slightly surreal piece of mind; portable
equipment that hardy isn't going to break if you drop it out of
your suitcase or down the stairs.
Indeed, the UNI-PAC officials know that there are other markets
out there:
"Field-proven as dependable and easy to use for military units,
trekkers, climbers and professional photographers depend on the
UNI-PAC for field communications, emergency power and battery
maintenance."
Of course, there is nothing to say that it can't also provide
adequate cover for essays, spreadsheets, surfing the internet,
or on-line gaming. And with the UNI-PAC 10 weighting just
2.1lbs, and the UNI-PAC 15 weighing 3.25lbs, the ability to do
just those things comfortably and easily within an environmental
framework is easier than it ever was.
Even if there was a freak malfunction - having withstood an
attack from masked gunmen as you threw your charger down the
stairs at the airport playing rugby - then the company grants
five year warranty.
Yet more piece of mind.
For the environmentally minded, then, the Uni-Solar Portable
Solar Electric Light Panels are a good alternative to
traditional laptop chargers. And versatile as they are, they can
be used for other appliances too.
Perhaps best of all, though, you can tell you friends that you
own a piece of military equipment.
POW!
About The Author: Chris Woolfrey is the solar panels expert at
http://www.EcoSwitch.com The environmental social network
EcoSwitch.
Dear Mr. Woolfrey:
ReplyDeleteYou have been misinformed. These Unisolar-based solar chargers are horrible in the real world, as they are inefficient, and thus, too bulky. If, for some unknown reason, you want flexible chargers, you go with Global Solar's chargers, of course (which use the more, up to 2x, efficient CIGS cells). And if you want the best charger, you go with monocrystalline, which occupy 1/3th to 1/4th the area of a Unisolar charger (and can still be folded nicely).
A solar-panel expert should have known that.
Oh, yes, put a bullet through the wiring or the bypass diodes! See whether the UNI-PACS will be generating anything (and make sure you are not close to flammable materials, as the short circuit will make them burn quite nicely).