We’ve all heard about solar chargers and their benefits, but they haven’t taken off the way creators had planned. Fortunately the future looks promising, thanks to advanced technology allowing designs to slim down and become more reliable.
A fine example of such technology is Yolk Solar Paper, a flat charger created by Korean designer, Sung Un Chang. With just a week to go (and at the time this article was written) on its Kickstarter campaign, the project reached $869,987 in pledges — 17 times more than its goal of $50,000.
Image: Kickstarter.
So what’s so special here? For starters, Solar Paper can reliably charge your smartphone in about two and a half hours on a sunny day, which is similar to the amount of time a wall charger takes.
Each charger is made with detachable panels of solar cells that stick to each other with a magnetic border. To charge up a phone, two panels are needed to reach an output of five watts, which is sufficient to charge an iPhone 6. Four panels are needed to make a 10 watt charger for a bigger device such as an iPad. According to the company, you can charge an iPhone 6 in two hours under bright sunlight, and five hours if there’s overcast. For an iPad, a full charge takes four and a half hours in sunlight, but nine hours if it’s cloudy.
Image: Kickstarter.
Since Solar Paper is so lightweight, it can go with you anywhere. Clip it to your backpack while hiking, or slip it into a jacket pocket or notebook while on the go. Better yet, if you happen to come across some angry clouds, Solar Paper will not shut down like most solar chargers. Instead, it will automatically reset itself to continue charging.
If you’re looking to get your hands on Solar Paper, the company expects its two-paneled charger to retail for $125, and the four-panel set-up will go for $200. The first batch is scheduled to ship next month, and the second batch will be coming in October or November 2015.
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