Tech Dreams: Solar-Powered Laptop
June 13th, 2011 by 
It’s far from being a reality, but an Italian product designer has a vision for solar-powered laptops.
The Luce Solar Panel Powered PC is by Andrea Ponti would be powered by two solar cells, one behind the monitor and the other under a keyboard, writes Get Solar.
Ponti is an industrial designer whose research is focused on international projects between Italy and Japan; his design portfolio is nothing short of impressive (check out his amazing Sustainable Water Container).
Energy conversion and battery life are the key elements that need to be improved to make this product a commercial reality. But as the Get Solar article points out, there is a technology called electronic ink display that is very energy efficient and which could provide the answer for it.
For now, the closer you’ll get to a solar power experience at the laptop is sitting at a cafe on a sunny day with a cup of coffee. Luce, however, is definitely a snapshot of things to come.
Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.
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Tags:  Andrea Ponti energy conversion energy-efficient Solar solar cells solar powered laptops | [ Permalink ] |
You may also be interested to know that companies like FTL solar also make collapsible solar chargers for a variety of battery charged devices (up to medical tent size). These are military grade (very durable). Camping suppliers also have devices that are similar.
I think that solar power for various tech gadgets may be viable in the future, but I wonder what the actual gain will be. Already we have solar powered battery chargers and the like, and very few use them anyway simply because outlets are everywhere, but I also see the appeal because it’s clean and could be used in an emergency.
-Andrew
Embedded Computing
Solar panelled technology is becoming more prominent nowadays. I think it is a good way to ensure you have power on the move but it’s only ever going to be a back up system for normal mains charging.