Solar Powered Laptops 120
smitty777 writes "Greentech is running a story on a solar powered laptop concept. The device was created by industrial designer Andrea Ponti, and includes a solar panel on the outside of the case as well as one below the keyboard. The idea seems to be taking shape; Samsung has a design they've been developing as well."
But what happens to the laptop life? (Score:4, Interesting)
Seriously, solar cells get hot, and laptops themselves have enough trouble from getting hot, I'm curious as to how bad the hit is going to be in terms of device durability.
Re:Laptop usage and sun exposure don't really over (Score:2, Interesting)
I would do it all the time if my screen weren't glossy, and used to when my screen was matte....
Laptop != Calculator (Score:4, Interesting)
All these comments comparing calculators to laptops...
- Have you ever felt a calculator or MP3 player get hot? Ever come across one that gets so hot that it needs a fan?
- Have you ever felt a laptop get hot? Ever come across a laptop that doesn't need a fan?
- Calculators use so little energy that a small strip indoors is enough to power it. Laptops are still not solar powered because the amount of energy required has so far been too much for solar cells to produce.
My point is that, in terms of heat, laptops and calculators are very different.
Have you ever used a laptop in the sun? I have, when sitting next to a window where the sun shines in. I soon move because the laptop gets uncomfortably hot. I don't know how bad that heat is for my laptop, but it's considerable, and I think it might be too much for the little fan, so I'm not about to test it.
Summary: In terms of energy use and heat... Laptop != Calculator
It's been tried repeatedly. (Score:4, Interesting)
doesn't it seem like this is way overdue ? brilliant idea.
It's been tried repeatedly. The problem has always been that, with available solar panels, computers, and displays, the laptop doesn't have enough area by a LARGE factor to collect as much power as it uses. It also doesn't present its surface to the sun very well when in use. About the best you could get is a laptop you could leave in the sun all day to charge enough for a few minutes use. (Want to leave it unattended that long?)
Further, more crunch has been the target for a long time and that requires more power than less crunch at the same silicon fabrication technology level. A lot of people have not wanted their laptops to be several-generations-back stupid. Improvements in run time have been driven more by improved batteries that store more power and hacks to turn parts of the machine off or down to slower running when not in use than by actual improvements in watts per crunch (though the latter has been worked on as well - beyond the desktop "keep it from melting as you make it faster and smaller" target.)
And then there's radio-based networking to eat more power. If you can't be bothered to plug in the charger you certainly don't want to find a network jack. And if you're out in the boonies with no outlets (or even in a city park) you're probably far enough from the wireless networking access point that the transmitter has to be running at the high end of its power range.
With new high-efficiency panels, low-power processors, e-ink displays (which only use power to change, not to sustain or to backlight) or LED backlighting, and a leveling out of the demand for crunch when just browsing non-animated web sites, editing documents, or the like, a low-capability machine that's fully solar powered may be coming into reach.
Or at least for people in perpetually-sunny areas who are willing to expose themselves to the thermonuclear cancer-generator in the sky for hours per day. And it might be useful in disaster scenarios (though I really don't want lives to depend on it not running down in a crunch).
But I think we're still far from on that is practical for most usage scenarios.