The Freeloader particularly stands out as it combines solar power with common sense – by this I mean that if the sun does not shine then it can be charged from a PC using a USB cable, which is a practical solution.  Once fully charged the Freeloader can hold its charge for around 3 months which is a pretty useful timescale.

The Freeloader gives the PDA mobile phone user who relies upon their phone for more than just calls and texts the confidence that they will have a ready supply of power to access their PDA applications like Word, Excel and internet browsing in the more remote areas of the world (or the country).  So, if you like the outdoor life but want to stay in touch with the modern world then combine your PDA mobile with a Freeloader and you shouldn’t go wrong.

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Basically the writer describes their own experiences in selecting and installing a solar system for domestic water heating.  There is also some discussion about the various approaches to solar heating of water in different countries around the world.

Useful resources:

Solar powered battery chargers have been around for years and the chargers have evolved in line with the development of the underlying battery technologies.

Solar battery chargers are used in all sorts of environments, some of them pretty hostile, including space, marine, motorhomes, caravans, cars and homes.

More recent developments include the chargers like the Freeloader which are aimed at providing reserve power for your gadgets like mobile phones, ipods, PSPs and PDAs. It provides sufficient power to keep a mobile phone going for up to 44 hours through to running a power hungry PSP for 2.5 hours. The Freeloader can hold its charge for up to 3 months and can also be charged from a PC via a USB cable, as well as using its in-built solar panel. As you would expect with such a myriad of applications the Freeloader comes with a wide range of adaptors so that you can plug it into just about all your gadgets.

An interesting snippet from way back in 1995 reported in the Times:

‘a solar-powered miniature radio transmitter is mounted on the back of a stork as part of a joint Israeli-German research project. Transmissions are monitored by satellite and the data fed into the Net but the team also hope the project will have spin-offs for the peace process in the Middle East.’

We don’t expect these solar powered miniature radio transmitters to be widely available in the shops, but who knows?

When fully charged during daylight hours the solar powered lamp will store sufficient energy to glow for around 5 hours. The jar is watertight and so can be used in all weathers, both indoors and outdoors so is great for use at home and when out camping.

The Sun Jar received the ‘Gift of the Year’ award for 2007.

Solar powered batteries come in many different sizes and capacities. The trick is to select the right combination for your application. Solar batteries are generally referred to as high performance or deep cycle batteries.

Security lighting generally needs two elements to be successful; 1) a bright enough light source to provide an adequate lighting distance for the application that it is being used for, and 2) a PIR (passive infrared) unit to automatically switch the light on when someone approaches in the dark.

PIR units normally have two main controls that can be adjusted. The sensitivity control determines how dark it must be before the light is activated. The duration control determines how long the light will stay on once activated.

Solar powered shed lights require a photovoltaic (pv) cell unit, a suitable battery and the shed light itself. Installation is usually straightforward and you will soon have the benefits of using the sun’s energy to charge the battery by day and the easy access to light when required.

Solar powered shed lights often have an optional PIR (passive infrared) sensor which means that they automatically switch the light on when you approach the shed in the dark.

Another option available with some solar powered shed lights is a remote control unit, so you can switch the light on and off from a distance, which kind of makes sense if you are staggering around in the dark trying to reach your shed.