Green inventor Ryan Hess is hoping to take the solar calculator idea to a whole new level. His grid-free Illumi-Charger design aims to charge small USB devices using only ambient light.
The Illumi-Charger is a conceptual device still in development. According to Hess's design, it could be made from recycled plastic and/or bioplastic and would have two USB inputs. Electricity would be stored in a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Charging would likely take hours.
Hess's design won third place last week in a tough design competition at the Greener Gadgets conference in New York. "I like the fact that the designers considered the materials and the passive solar gain," judge Julian Lwin said.
Fellow judge Andrew Wagner talked about merging the Illumi-Charger with another finalist, "Corky," a kinetic mouse made from recycled materials, including cork.
"Corky is sitting in horrible office lighting all day," Wagner said. "Why not suck up extra energy?"
Like Inhabitat's Mike Chino, I remain extremely skeptical about how much power the Illumi-Charger could actually deliver. However, solar technology is getting increasingly efficient so passive solar applications definitely deserve more consideration. There are probably ways to take advantage of ambient light that we can't even imagine now. In the meantime, this winter is making me want some passive solar...on my face.
Image: The Illumi-Charger design by Ryan Hess. Credit: Greenwaves.org.
Tags: Design, Gadgets, Green Electronics, Green Tech, Plastic,
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