Technology is a passion of mine, I know, for those of you that have read my articles for the last 1, 2 or 3 years you probably think yeah, technology is your passion check! One of the things that I am curious about is how people use technology. One of the areas that people are beginning to embrace technology more and more is the area of alternative or renewable energy. That got me thinking about the concept of personal energy. When you are in your car or your house, you normally have a power source (Car or House) that you can consume. But sometimes you are away from home, and you need a boost for your devices. More power means more talking!
Based on that concept, I wanted to talk about the many portable batteries that are available. In particular, I wanted to talk about the devices that come with, or include a solar or wind turbine that you can hold. The reality of portable renewable power is that you can use the included battery to charge your phone, and in sitting by a window, you can recharge that battery with the solar panel. Wind power doesn’t work inside at an airport, but you can use the wind turbine outside. But the handheld mini-solar batteries are useful indoors or outdoors. They do not receive a charge from overhead lights, but they do, if you see any part of the sky, charge indoors.
The first thing we have to manage is talking. If you don’t use your phone often to talk, you don’t need to carry a battery (until you do). If you go away from where you live, and hike, using the GPS of your phone, at that point you should consider taking a battery with you. I have a small solar-powered battery that I carry in my bag, just in case.
Power Consumption sources for smartphones
- Content connecting and releasing cellular networks (IE when you are driving on the highway for more than 100 miles)
- Having WiFi on, but not at home, no network connection.
- We were talking on the smartphone.
- GPS on and directions being given
- Taking pictures!
Thanks for reading – have a wonderful day!
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Question of
do you have a spare battery for your smart phone?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you use the GPS on your phone?
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Yes
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Question of
do you take pictures with your phone?
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Yes
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No
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Q: DO YOU HAVE A SPARE BATTERY FOR YOUR SMART PHONE?
Yes (1 votes) – 8%
No (12 votes) – 92%
Q: DO YOU USE THE GPS ON YOUR PHONE?
Yes (5 votes) – 100%
Q: DO YOU TAKE PICTURES WITH YOUR PHONE?
Yes (10 votes) – 100%
I mostly use my phone for taking photos, social media, and texting. I rarely make calls as I hate talking on the phone and prefer texting.
do you ever run short of the battery life?
I connected an inverter, (12volt to 220volt) connected to an old 12-volt car generator and a 12-volt car battery. PS. The generator put out as much A/C as the armature could deliver as (it is not governed like an alternator.) I was working on the perpetual motion theory. The car battery initiated the project sequence, ie, it fed the generator which delivered a constant 12-DC to the inverter which stepped up to 220-volts by the inverter which recharged the car battery through a voltage regulator. I ran it for 3 weeks. It was portable and required no exterior fuel input. Overheating bearings inside the generator was the Achilles heel factor since after running nonstop for 14 days it started to overheat and the casings were disintegrating. I shelved the project 25 years ago because I couldn’t get bearings to run for longer. The typical surface hardness for bearing components ranges from 60- 64 on the Rockwell hardness C scale (Rc). I was thinking, ceramic bearings for surface friction?!? Then just stopped. Sorry, got a bit carried away there. Pardon the ramblings of an old fart.
that sounds like an interesting project 25 years ahead of its time!!!! Interesting solution, i would wonder if the newer ceramic bearings might actually do a better job – thanks for sharing this i’ve got something to think about!
I bought a rechargeable lamp that can recharge by electricity or by the solar panel at the top.It doesn’t work, I mean the solar.
does it work well? I have a couple of rechargeable lanterns but they don’t work really well.
The camera consumes most of my phone’s energy. A portable renewable power device sounds awesome!
i have a solar one and a water-powered one (that one I used on the boat).
These are very impressive, I am going to look for more information about them.
the most important thing is don’t be swayed by a large attery, focus more on what fits in what you use to carry things!
Thank you very much for the warning. I have no spare battery and need to think about it a bit
if you use it for a gps it is a good thing! if you don’t ever run out of battery i would say you don’t need one!
I have a smartphone but don’t use it a lot so I never run out of battery power. I do have a watch that I have had for almost 10 years now and it is solar powered so I never had to change or need a batery and I love it;
i used to have a solar-powered watch – it was awesome!
I’m not good at talking for long thus I become mentally exhausted when I talk on phone for more than a half-hour. My phone’s battery gets drained because of being online for long and playing games.
Some of the facts you stated were new to me.
i am always happy to help! thanks for the comment! being online will drain your battery!
There is no spare battery for my phone. I have a cable in my car to charge my phone. I use GPS on my phone when traveling in an unfamiliar territory. I take pictures with my phone as a last resort. I prefer my camera.
you are an amazing photographer, so that camera is a must for you to carry!!!!
I do not have a spare phone battery that I am aware of. I take phone pics only when I am out without my regular camera. It works well.
you probably don’t run into battery issues. Thanks Carol!
I change my phone every 2 years and my battery lasts no problem …. I only take pictures with my phone and GPS I don’t use on my phone because I have it in my car
that is really good to hear – and a very good system!
And at the lowest cost, dear friend …. phones are really cheap right now
some are, some are getting more and more expensive!
New-age models are really expensive … I always look to buy one when there is a discount campaign
they are very expensive. I used to, many years ago, upgrade every year. I do not now. The next upgrade for me is a phone that supports 5g
I always have my GPS switched off unless I am travelling alone. We used to have solar calculators when I was in school. I wish we could harness the energy created by people in markets , train stations , bus stations etc.
that would really be interesting, i wonder if someone is working on a kinetic energy capture system. Time to go research!
Let us know what you’ve found.
so far not much, but some interesting new battery stuff