5 Everyday Solar-Powered Gadgets for Home, School, and Work

If you're curious about 5 cool solar powered gadgets for home, work, & school, you’re already thinking about how renewable energy and sustainable technology are changing everyday life.

5 Cool Solar Powered Gadgets for Home, Work & School

Solar energy is revolutionizing the way we power our lives — at home, school, and work. Making the switch to solar energy is now more affordable than ever before and is saving dollars — and making good sense.

At the same time, solar-powered products are becoming more popular – enabling us to take small steps for the greater good. Here are five of our favorites:

Pack It Up

Want to be "too cool for school" this year? Strap on a solar-powered backpack and have at it. These are great for busy parents, students, and employees who depend on their devices to power up while on the go. These backpacks feature built-in solar panels designed to charge whatever’s inside.

They are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors. Take a look here. Most of these packs work best when exposed to direct sunlight, making them a practical and eco-friendly alternative to hunting for an outlet between classes or meetings.

related article: A Strategic Guide to Residential Energy Storage To Save More

Kick It

Originally designed for vision-impaired soccer players, these balls are the best. This game-changer, available on GlobalSources.com, features solar-powered audio and motion detectors that alert players when it's near.

Each ball contains custom-cut, soccer-sized solar panels. See how it works here. It’s a good example of how electronic gadgets are being reimagined with sustainable technology in mind — reducing reliance on disposable batteries and lowering their environmental impact.

Watch It

If you're a watch wearer, you know how annoying it is to have to pay a visit to the jeweler every time your battery dies. Thanks to jewelry makers like Seiko, solar powered time keepers are making those trips a thing of the past.

Watches like SEIKO Solar take their energy from light and store it in a self-recharging battery that never needs to be charged. Now you can be on time and on trend.

Check out some of what’s available. These watches work indoors and out — they don’t require direct sunlight to charge, just ambient light — making them one of the most convenient solar-powered products available today.

Get the Green Light

There’s no time like the present to get the "green light" on sprucing up your main entrance walkway with solar-powered pavers. They use solar technology to power by the day and light by night.

Take a look at these solar-power sun bricks found on Inhabitat.com. Beyond looks, solar-powered LED lights and pavers also help save energy at home — they charge during the day and illuminate automatically at night, with no added electricity cost and a smaller carbon footprint.

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Calculate Your Savings

Have fun with numbers at home, school, or the office with a solar-powered calculator. They run via solar cells that absorb light and convert it into the energy needed to run.

Initially introduced in the late 1970s, they are available by some of the biggest brands, are more popular than ever, and come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and price points.

Here’s a sampling of some of what’s on the market today. The solar-powered calculator may be the most familiar eco-friendly gadget around — and a small but real way individuals save energy and reduce their everyday environmental impact.

As far as solar-powered gadgets go, we think these are pretty cool, but they will pale in comparison to what's yet to come as solar powered smart shirts, shoes, and a myriad of other solar-powered products come out of development and into the world.

Each of these gadgets also shares a bigger purpose: reducing our collective carbon footprint and showing that renewable energy can fit into everyday routines — not just rooftops.

And unlike conventional electronic gadgets, many of these solar chargers and devices can keep working even during a power outage, since they don't depend on the grid.

The growing interest in sustainable technology is part of a broader shift — one that TerraSol Energies has been part of since 2009, helping homes and businesses across PA, NJ, and DE make renewable energy a practical reality.

related article: The End of the Tax Incentive Is Not the End of Residential Solar in PA

Let Solar Power Your Business

The real savings – both in money and the environment – come with converting your business operations to solar. To find out more about how it's done and the benefits it offers, contact TerraSol Energies, Inc.

We are a family-run business that has been serving the Tri-State area (PA, NJ, DE) since 2009. With more than 40 years of collective global project management experience, TerraSol engineers are some of the best in the business – and ready to help.

Check out what our customers have to say and then contact us to set up a free consultation. We look forward to meeting you — and to helping you take 5 cool solar powered gadgets for home, work, & school as just the first step toward a fully solar-powered future.