Solar Powered Jacket Charges Your Gadgets 308
blorg writes "Wired News has a story about a new jacket from SCOTTeVEST that uses flexible solar panels on the shoulders to recharge gadgets in the pockets. The idea is that you can now keep all of your gadgets charged, even if you are spending an extended period of time away from a power source. The solar charging is an addition to an existing jacket with features including 42 hidden pockets that can be wired together through the jacket lining."
Thanks but no thanks (Score:3, Insightful)
As it is, I had an Ipaq as well as several other PDAs before. They where just to fragile for me to consider carrying them that close to me all the time.
About the only thing I feel comfortable carrying on my person would be my cellphone and pager - everything else would have me trying to constantly remember things like "Ok, PDA in pocket X, make sure I don't sit/do jumping jacks/box/etc etc".
You have two options for charge using that jacket (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Use it with you inside, but you can damage your skin appearence or get cancer that way
2) Leave the jacket staring on the sun, but the sun will damage your jacket (specially colors) and soon you will not be able to use it on yourself (you still can just carry it with you though)
I would prefer carry just that flexible solar panels on my pocket/car/wallet
Upgrade your jacket idea. (Score:3, Insightful)
No. Even though I'm a Texan I don't thing a solar Stetson would sell. Well, maybe a few....
Backpack/Carrying Case (Score:2, Insightful)
One problem with this. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Clever (Score:1, Insightful)
Definitive Energy analysis + Back of Envelope (Score:2, Insightful)
1. You're exactly right. This national laboratory study [nrel.gov] is generally considered definitive.
2. Idiot Check:
Bulk unsubsidized price of a 100 watt solar panel:
$350
Lifetime energy production:
100W * 8 hours a day * 300 days per year * 25 years
6,000,000 Wh (6000 kWh)
Retail price of that electricity: $.10 / kWh
$600
Not a lot of profit margin for the manufacturer there is there?
I'll confess that I am beginning to lose my patience with debunking this over and over again; it was true back in the 1950s-60s when solar power was an elaborately hand-assembled product, and before you techie people caused the silicon market to blow up so hugely. (Though these are probably CIGS instead of crystalline silicon.)