Maybe Anker should start selling Solar/Wind solutions to charge their own devices, think about small applications for camping or enough for outdoor landscape lights.
Should Anker get involved in Solar/Wind Energy Products?
Yes they should. Solar panels, micro wind turbines. Not sure how they could do the wind or water turbines in a value added power dense way but they’re pretty smart. Most battery chargers I’ve seen, even high end stuff like Goal Zero, do not use alternative energy sources for anything but to prolong, or maintain a battery charge. If you check the specs on the Yeti 1250 or the Yeti 400 for example, even if you daisy chain solar panels together you’re still looking at an all day charge with no use to go from 0-100%. Most of the time, you charge off a wall port, bring the battery and then use solar to maybe extend it by 50 or 80% under walking conditions. This isn’t like a base camp situation where you can point panels at a clear sun at optimal angle and set up as many as you want in like a field. For back pack walking solar panels that get quick glimpses of the sun, its much harder to pull a lot of power. I will say that most hand crank power chargers I’ve seen are always, hand cranked. 1 minute of crank = 1 minute of calling, light, power whatever. I would like to see a compact foot charger with, gasp metal parts! Something that could take a 220 (ahem… 240) lb. man giving a full standing kick for power. Maybe a gravity powered charger, i.e. string it up to a tree with some sort of rock weight, let the weight pull / charge for a minute on the way down, then lift it up again. I’m just spit balling here but it could work.
I’m also a big fan of the recent advances in the differential heating chargers that take heat on one side and cool on another to produce electricity. The larger the temp. gradient, the better the power. I like the power pots at EMS, they’re getting pretty close but still think they have some room for improvement. There was a kick starter project that never made it. They used a coaster sized device to turn a hot cup of coffee into a cell charger. Thats getting pretty good if they can make it happen.
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Absolutely they should get involved. Definitely the future. It would be great to see low cost alternatives for homeowners, especially in urban locations. Possibly small wind turbines and solar panels that could be portable and more efficient battery storage systems.
You are correct. That is exactly what I was thinking, something portable that you can take camping. I wonder if you can buy multiple solar panels and link them together to generate more power.
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Goal Zero products are so over priced.