Solar laptop chargers offer a great way to use clean energy to meet some of your everyday power needs. Even though they have been around for a while now, there is still no consensus on which is the best brand to buy, or indeed, what factors should influence the choice of solar laptop charger.
Here is a short breakdown of the top three laptop chargers on the market today, with reference to three key indicators: price, portability and power. Usually there is a compromise between one or the other one of these features, and here we give you a brief overview of the best products on the market.
- Price: ranges from around $295 to $655, though the most preferred models are at the higher price range.
- Portability: The Solar Rolls are perhaps the most portable solar laptop chargers around. Even the largest solar roll which measures 12” by 57” weighs only a few ounces once rolled up. This means that when you lay it out to be charged, the larger surface area can absorb more energy and you can roll it up and carry it around without feeling much weight. These solar chargers are also waterproof, making them perfect for cafes, restaurants, office desks. You can even charge them on the lawn or on the car roof.
- Power: In terms of power, solar rolls come in three sizes. The largest ones have about 14 watts of power and can fully charge a laptop in 5 to 10 hours. You can combine several solar rolls to simultaneously charge a laptop.
- Price: The NotePower is pretty affordable, with prices at $262 and $386 for its two versions.
- Portability: The best thing about the NotePower is that it folds to become a laptop case. This automatically makes it a winning product, even though there is a slight drawback in that one version weighs three pounds and the other six pounds.
This somewhat reduces its functionality as a portable device, as does its thinness. Unless you have a Macbook or something, you might want to reconsider this solar laptop charger.
- Power: The NotePower offers higher power options than the SolarRolls, with two power options at 15 watts and 22 watts.
- Price: $620
- Portability: In terms of portability, the Solaris 26 folds up neatly to the size of an A4 sheet, making it ideal to carry around anywhere. On the downside though, it weighs a little more than it looks, around twenty eight ounces, but even so, is one of the lightest solar chargers available.
- Power: This solar laptop charger uses the latest in thin film technology to give you the most in charging power. It has trickle charge with 26 watt output, which means your laptop can be fully charged in of 4 to 6 hours. These numbers make it one of the best solar chargers available today.
Solar laptop chargers are still in their infancy. Despite that, there are some competitive products on the market. With laptop battery innovation pretty stagnant, these devices will become very popular indeed.
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