Just 2 Weeks Until International CES!

The next two weeks are looking busy for AspectSolar! Our accessories and the new DUO-Flex solar USB charger make excellent gifts, so we’ll be busy for stocking stuffer season. Then it’s New Year’s Eve the week after and with that comes resolutions for being healthier, making the world a better place, and using more renewable solar power. And finally, we wrap it all up with a trip to Vegas for International CES to show off our award-winning SunSocket Solar Generator and other goodies.

(You remember that we won an award, right? It’s for Design & Engineering Innovation in Portable Power – a category shared with battery giant, Rayovac.)

We’re packing our bags and putting the finishing touches on our booth. Along with the essentials, we’re having trouble deciding which portable power solution to bring with us. Of course a couple EnergyBars are coming along for the ride – you don’t say no to power like that. That’ll help us stay powered while at the tradeshow and keep the email running in any sketchy coffee shops we can find. The DUO-Flex can sit on the dashboard of the rental car and keep our iPhones running for the same purpose (we get a lot of email here at AspectSolar). The EP-55 solar panels will look great on our hotel balcony for charging the EnergyBars. We could charge them from the wall sockets in the room, but we’re going to CES to show off anyway…

Of course the SunSocket Solar Generator is coming – that’s the main attraction. Hm. What a quandary. Sounds like we’ll have to bring them all and see what happens. If you’re going to CES, be sure to pack your renewable power along for the ride! We’d love to see you at our booth, and you can see the power of SUNTRAX™ sun-tracking technology in person.

Spoilers: It’s really cool. That’s why we were honored for innovation.

Right now, you can get free shipping and great deals on product packages. Celebrate with us, wherever you are.

The Moon Could Get Solar Power as Early as 2035

Imagine a solar panel array that could have constant, uninhibited exposure to sunlight. No clouds, no night. Japan’s Shimizu Corporation knows how to do it: put a belt of solar panels all the way across the equator of the moon. That’s 6800 miles of continuous photovoltaic cells, with a constant half of them exposed to the sun’s light.

While exposed to the sun, the cells would convert light into electricity and store it in broadcast facilities for later transmission. As the moon rotates, those broadcast facilities will face the Earth during the lunar night. Using a combination of microwave and laser transmissions, the solar belt will beam that energy to terrestrial facilities and later distribution to local power grids. Although around since before the Fukushima disaster, Shimizu’s proposal has gained momentum since the dangers of nuclear power in urban areas became clear. In the past few years, many of Japan’s nuclear reactors have been shut down and no reactors are currently in commission (although some are to be operating again soon). The pressing question is how to supply power for a country of millions in dense urban areas?

While obviously much safer for many reasons, the solar belt would require immense planning and would be the largest construction project ever undertaken by mankind – and on the Moon, no less. For the most part, robots would do the work. They would harvest the Moon’s natural resources to construct most equipment and maintain the array. Over the course of many years, several robots would harvest materials, produce photovoltaic cells, and move in a zigzag pattern to install the entire belt. Building those robots, planning the array, and exporting elements like Hydrogen to the Moon for construction would take years. Shimizu estimates that actual lunar construction could begin in 2035.

This is our favorite hypothetical use of solar technology this month, but it’ll be awhile before we see the energy this could deliver (almost four times the total current energy production of the United States). For now, we’ll charge our EnergyBars and take personal portable solar power with us. At least until the Moon can pick up the slack.

Make a Mobile Photography Studio

If you were building something and using power tools, running out of power would be no big deal. Frustrating, yes, but not a big issue. You’d plug in your batteries and let them charge overnight before coming back to it tomorrow. That’s not true of all battery-powered jobs though. If you’re shooting an outdoor wedding and the batteries die, that’s not just your day that’ll be ruined. Here are a few tips for staying fully charged during a shoot.

Charge Batteries Overnight

Get into the habit of plugging in the night for you have a gig. This will save you time and hassle later. There’s nothing quite like plugging in a few hours before leaving for the shoot and hoping that your battery can charge in that time. And while you’re at it, make sure there’s enough room on your camera for all of the pictures you’re about to shoot.

Keep Track of Your Charge

How many perfect shots have been missed because a battery died at the wrong moment? For long events, that battery will die – it’s up to you to control when. Check your battery levels occasionally and keep a schedule handy (if there is one for that event). Maybe change batteries in the downtime, even if you don’t quite need to yet. A little preparation and planning never hurt anyone.

Bring Portable Power

No more battery? No sweat! With your EnergyBar 250, you can charge a dead battery while you continue to shoot with the full one. Our battery weighs less than eight pounds and is less than two inches thick, which means it takes up less space than some of the other equipment you have to bring along. If it’s a weekend outdoor event, bring your EP-55 solar panels to charge the EnergyBar. You can never run out of power when you plug in to the sun.

CEA Honors SunSocket Solar Generator For Innovation

It’s been a busy few weeks here at AspectSolar! We had to keep things a little hush-hush for a while, but we can now proudly tell you that we’re being honored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) for innovations in portable power! See the SunSocket Solar Generator listed under the ‘Portable Power’ category.

On November 12, we traveled to New York City for the prestigious CES Unveiled event for the press. Here, hundreds of reporters and editors in the tech industry got to see firsthand some of the most innovative technologies to come out this year or due to come out early 2014. We had on display our award-winning SunSocket Solar Generator (man, it feels nice to say that) and the brand new DUO-Flex solar USB charger.

Both devices drew the attention of some interested reporters. In addition to being featured in i3, the folks at Power Systems Design recorded a quick demo video, and VentureBeat had some kind words to say. Their story has been picked up and reposted around the web. So, you know, we’re making the rounds.

Professional reviews are fun and all, but we also like to hear how you use your solar power! Tell us what your favorite thing is that you’ve been able to do with portable power.

Nationwide 59% Renewable Energy in Germany

On October 3^rd, Germany hit a peak of produced renewable energy at 59% of total consumed power.

Imagine nearly two thirds of a whole country’s power coming from renewable energy sources. Solar power accounted for 11.2% of total power produced. Wind power accounted for the majority of renewable energy produced that day (it was a very windy, very sunny October day). While amazing and rare, this is becoming a pattern for Germany. Earlier in the year, the country’s grid hit other peaks of 59% and 61%. The whole country embraced renewable energy.

Partway through the afternoon, the renewable surge drove conventional power prices down as those power plants didn’t have to produce as much energy to keep the country saturated. In fact, much of their over-abundance of power was exported to neighboring countries. Every laptop was powered, every lab and every hospital took all the power they needed from the grid.

We’re at a point where renewable power is more convenient and yields higher output than ever before. The same is true for some personal solar powered products (namely, us). When there’s so little to deter countries from switching to renewable energy, then it’s a good sign that individuals should be switching also.

Our high-efficiency solar panels and state-of-the-art Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are small-scale solar power to make your life easier. It’s two-fold: solar power to give you the charge your devices need when you want it, and just a little more green energy to help out the Earth. Use the EP-55 to charge your EnergyBar 250 battery pack and take renewable energy with you for long car trips, flights, vacations, camping, or just for that moment your phone dies around 5:00 pm.

Personal solar power is the first step to energy freedom. One day, our grid has the potential to be just as renewable or more than Germany’s.