Solar Power for your Mobile Phone: A Green Guide to All of Your Options

Scientists and technology engineers are working hard to find new ways to power cell phones. As phone batteries have started to drain away more and more quickly (due to more advanced use of phones) these researchers have started looking at a variety of new ways to charge cell phones. Those scientists who are eco-conscious have been looking at how to harness the power of the sun to charge mobile phones. Their hard work is starting to pay off; there are now quite a few options for solar power when it comes to cell phones. They range in size from solar panels on handsets to mid-sized backpack charging devices to solar cell towers.

Take a look at these ten methods of powering mobile phones with solar energy:

1. Solar Cell Phones

We’ve seen a number of cell phones over the years that have been designed to harness the power of the sun to stay charged. Many of these remained concept phones that didn’t get put into actual production. However, as solar technology has improved, we’ve started to see some headway made with these phones. One recent example of such a phone is the new Sharp phone which is currently on sale in Japan. This phone has a built-in solar panel that charges the phone. One minute of charging time in the sun allows you to get in six minutes of talk time or six hours of standby time. Left in the sun long enough, the phone can recharge up to eighty percent of its total capacity. This certainly isn’t ideal but it provides a nice secondary charging option to add to the standard option of charging a phone by plugging it into a wall charger. The phone has features like GPS and mobile TV so it’s a decent phone. We’re likely to see more advanced phones incorporating solar panels into their design in the future.

2. Solar Cell Phone Sleeves

One of the biggest complaints when it comes to cell phone batteries is that smartphone batteries are inefficient. The battery is clunky and it gets drained quickly if you use all of the great multimedia features offered by the phone. Smartphone users may be in luck with the recent announcement about a new kind of cell phone sleeve that uses solar energy specifically to power smartphones. The sleeve, called Powcell, uses solar cells to generate power. The sleeve powers itself using the sun. A large solar panel is built into the sleeve. It’s designed to be as efficient as possible and can work even in some ambient light (not just in direct sunlight). Users of both BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones simply need to slide their phones into the sleeve. The phone will immediately become ready for use; you don’t have to wait for a long time for it to recharge because the power will be in the fully-charged sleeve.

3. Solar Backpack Chargers

This is a backpack that you can carry around with you which also serves the function of working as a solar-powered charger for your various gadgets. The backpack is a normal backpack that has lightweight waterproof solar panels installed on its exterior. You can then use the backpack to charge your cell phone. Depending on the backpack that you choose and the phone that you have, you should be able to charge your phone for an hour or two of talk time once the backpack has been sitting in direct sunlight for about one hour. There are quite a few options out there for this type of solar-powered charger. The line of backpacks and bags by Voltaic Systems is a good one to start with if you’re interested in this option. 

4. Solar USB Panels

These are portable solar panels that you can carry with you to charge your cell phone when you’re outdoors. Sanyo has just started to make Eneloop Portable Solar Panels which charge your cell phone through a USB connection. You can hang the solar panel in the window of your car or simply set it out in the sun. It will absorb the energy of the sun and store it in a lithium ion battery which is built into something called the Eneloop Mobile Booster. If you charge the solar panel in the sun for one hour, it will generate enough power to charge your cell phone for about half an hour of talk time. It’s not ideal but it will get your phone charged for use in a pinch. It’s not a bad deal since the solar panels are affordable (approximately $90 USD) and lightweight (approximately ten ounces). This particular brand goes on sale in Japan starting August 10th, 2009.

5. Solar-Powered Swimsuit

That’s right, there are swimsuits available (mostly designed for women) which have solar panels built into them. While you’re out in the sun soaking up the rays, you’ll also be charging the suit. There’s a built-in charging cord which can be attached to your mobile phone so that you can charge the phone while you’re hanging out at the beach.

6. Other Solar-Powered Cell Phone Chargers

Sleeves, swimsuits, panels and backpacks are all nifty devices to carry around with you to charge your cell phone using the power of the sun. However, you don’t actually need to get something this fancy. You can simply get a cell phone charger that is powered by the sun. It doesn’t serve any other function and may not give you quite the same amount of power as an advanced charger like the USB solar panels but it’s certainly a viable option for a lightweight device that can harness the sun’s energy, convert it into an electrical current and use it to power your mobile phone. Three options for solar-powered cell phone chargers are the iSun, the Solio and StrapYa World’s Charger.

7. Simple Solar Strap

The only thing about those cell phone chargers is that they can feel kind of bulky. Sure, they’re fairly lightweight but they’re still another gadget to carry around. One alternative that’s being worked on is to create thinner, more flexible chargers that can be easily incorporated into whatever else you’re carrying around. The best example of this so far is the Suntrica SolarStrap. It easily fits in a pocket but also has a Velcro strap so it can be attached to bags, purses or anything else that you might be carrying around with you. It can power your cell phone for moderate use and it only costs about $40 USD.

8. Solar-Powered Bluetooth Speakers

In addition to solar powered phones and phone chargers, we’re starting to see the development of solar-powered accessories for phones. One example is the Solar Sound Bluetooth Speaker Set. This is a set of speakers that can be hooked up to any Bluetooth device. This means that you could hook it up to your Bluetooth-friendly mobile phone so that you have speakers which can play your phone’s music library loudly enough for a whole room to hear the music. These speakers are powered using a large solar panel that’s built into the back of the speaker. Fully-charged, these speakers can last 4-8 hours depending on the volume that you’re playing your music.

9. Solar Panels

On a broader scale, solar panels can be installed on the rooftops of homes and businesses to generate power. This power can be captured and used to power a variety of different household items ranging from lights to televisions. And yes, people can power their mobile phones using these solar panels. This is something that is primarily seen in developing nations where grassroots movements are in place to bring solar energy to the area.

10. Solar-Powered Cell Phone Towers

At an even grander level than solar panels we have seen some cell phone companies that are starting to use solar power to power large cell phone towers. One example of such a company is Verizon Wireless which installed a solar-powered cell phone tower in the desert last year in an effort to start becoming greener as a business. This could be a particularly smart option for cell phone towers that are placed in rural areas. These areas sometimes lack reception because of the cost of powering a cell phone tower in an area with low usage; solar power may be more affordable and could be beneficial in these regions.