they've had solar powered calculators for a while? why not a solar powered cell phone? doesn't mean you have to charge the battery 100% from solar energy, but say 20%.
they've had solar powered calculators for a while? why not a solar powered cell phone? doesn't mean you have to charge the battery 100% from solar energy, but say 20%.
Remember, it takes ~ 2 years to get the energy back that it took to make a solar cell, when it is optimally positioned in the sun day-in, day-out. A cell phone solar charger is not going to be in the sun for every available sunlight-hour and sitting at the right angle. It will be a net waste of energy, you will never earn back the original energy. Charge the phone from the wall. Save the solar cells for a roof-mounted permanent install where you can earn the manufacturing energy back.
Solar chargers for cell phones are a convenience issue, but an environmental disaster. Plus, cell phones take a fair amount of juice, a solar cell doesn't do much to pump 'em up. Calculators take very little juice.
A solar cell for a calculator might make some sense though. Mostly, calculators are not using rechargeable cells. So the small solar cell might stretch the useful life of that throw-away cell. And the throw away cell lasts so long, most calculator mfg don't want to bother with the cost and extra circuits of a rechargeable battery. Plus rechargeable have their own set of issues, the have self-discharge, meaning you would need to recharge that calculator that sat unused in the drawer for 2 months.
