Published on December 19th, 2008 | by Ariel Schwartz

Energizer to Release Portable Solar Battery Charger

December 19th, 2008 by Ariel Schwartz

GoodCleanTech reports that Energizer plans on debuting its portable solar-powered AA and AAA battery charger at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The slick-looking gadget is completely weatherproof and comes with a USB port to power electronics.

Energizer’s device can also be charged from an AC outlet just in case the sun lets you down.

The company plans on releasing the charger this summer for $49.99— not a bad price for freedom from wall outlets.

Photo Credit: GoodCleanTech

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Tags: energizer, goodcleantech

About the Author

Ariel Schwartz was formerly the editor of CleanTechnica and is a senior editor at Co.Exist. She has contributed to SF Weekly, Popular Science, Inhabitat, Greenbiz, NBC Bay Area, GOOD Magazine, and more. A graduate of Vassar College, she has previously worked in publishing, organic farming, documentary film, and newspaper journalism. Her interests include permaculture, hiking, skiing, music, relocalization, and cob (the building material). She currently resides in San Francisco, CA.

Power Crazy

I’ve had one of these for years. It just doesn’t have a fancy brand name on it.
Power Crazy

I’ve had one of these for years. It just doesn’t have a fancy brand name on it.
Rif

@Global Patriot

It is not new. A friend of mine bought something similar around 1996. He gave up on using it because it generate so little power that battery charging time would be counted in weeks not hours. I am sure the solar PV cells used have improved since then, but have they improved enough? There is no tech specs given, we will have to wait until it on the market.

Solar PV is wonderful, but not very powerful per square-cm, so in reality a much larger collector is needed. Here are some transportable models that are on the market now:

http://mobile-energy2.com/products_me2solar.php
Rif

@Global Patriot

It is not new. A friend of mine bought something similar around 1996. He gave up on using it because it generate so little power that battery charging time would be counted in weeks not hours. I am sure the solar PV cells used have improved since then, but have they improved enough? There is no tech specs given, we will have to wait until it on the market.

Solar PV is wonderful, but not very powerful per square-cm, so in reality a much larger collector is needed. Here are some transportable models that are on the market now:

http://mobile-energy2.com/products_me2solar.php
Global Patriot

The idea that millions of batteries, which currently end up in our landfills, might be replaced by solar rechargeable versions is a great bit of news, though I can’t understand why it took this long to bring such a product to market.
Global Patriot

The idea that millions of batteries, which currently end up in our landfills, might be replaced by solar rechargeable versions is a great bit of news, though I can’t understand why it took this long to bring such a product to market.
John Simonetta

We are noticing a number of solar charging units coming from the promotional products industry as well, mainly for phones and other small personal electronics.

The KEYWORD solar locates a number of items at http://www.proformacatalog.com
John Simonetta

We are noticing a number of solar charging units coming from the promotional products industry as well, mainly for phones and other small personal electronics.

The KEYWORD solar locates a number of items at http://www.proformacatalog.com
Renewable Ray

I can easily see this in my Christmas stocking and using it in my window sills. Kind of expensive but very cool.
Renewable Ray

I can easily see this in my Christmas stocking and using it in my window sills. Kind of expensive but very cool.