How many hours does the smartphone solar charge?I tried it with the solar panel of the disaster prevention set "Anker Power Bag"

In the event of a power outage due to a disaster caused by heavy rain, securing a power source for smartphones is an important issue. Smartphones can be a lifeline in the event of a disaster, such as confirming the safety of a family member or collecting information. As a regular preparation, I definitely want to secure an emergency charging method.

As mentioned in the previous article, the ideal disaster preparedness is a "mobile battery." In addition to the mobile battery you normally use, it is ideal to have a mobile battery for unexpected situations or a dry battery charger. However, if the disaster lasts for a long time, such as when the battery is not charged in advance or the batteries are not available, there are options such as manual charging and solar charger.

The important thing here is how long and how much it actually charges. In particular, solar panels vary depending on their size and weather, so it is important to know the guideline.

Therefore, this time, we took up the "solar charger" included in the "Anker Power Bag" sold by au and Anker as a special disaster countermeasure set, and verified its charging capacity and usability.

This time, we used the special disaster countermeasure set "Anker Power Bag" sold at au shops and au Online Shops nationwide. A collaboration item by KDDI and Anker, multiple disaster prevention goods are included in a set.

The set includes a foldable solar charger "Anker PowerPort Solar Lite Solar Charger (15W)" and a 3in1 cable (Lightning, micro USB, Type-C) that can charge various devices such as smartphones and tablets with one. (Connectable), and a storage bag with a capacity of 10 liters with IPX4 waterproof performance.

Let's start the experiment with this solar charger.

Most foldable solar chargers use a USB port mounted on the solar charger to connect to a smartphone or mobile battery to store electricity.

What is the charging speed of the solar charger to the smartphone? This charging experiment was conducted on three models: iPhone 4s, iPhone 7, and iPhone X.

First, here is the result of charging outdoors for about 1 hour on a sunny day.

(Of the 2 ports, use 1 smartphone connection port)

iPhone 4s 13% (starting from 0 battery level) iPhone 722% (starting from 67% battery level) iPhone X 15% (starting from 69% battery level)

There is a difference depending on the battery level and model, such as iPhone 4s, which has 0 battery level, and iPhone X, which is currently in use, but in this way, 1 hour of charging will charge approximately 13 to 22%. I found that I could do it.

Next, when I tried it on a cloudy day under the same conditions, it was 5 to 7% for all three models. After all, it seems that the power generation efficiency and charging speed will be lower than on a sunny day, but if you still can not charge from the outlet due to a power outage etc., it is reliable to be able to charge with only sunlight and a solar charger.

How about indoors? I placed a panel near the window and tried a similar experiment, but a problem occurred. Unlike outdoors, indoors had a timing when the sun was blocked during the hour due to the inclination of the sun, so it was not possible to charge for an entire hour. It turns out that it can be charged in the sunlight, but it seems that it is necessary to find a place that is less likely to be in the shadow.

For this reason as well, when using the solar charger, you will be able to charge it efficiently if you keep the following in mind.

・ Use in sunny weather rather than cloudy ・ Use outdoors rather than indoors ・ Use in daytime when shade is less likely to occur than in the evening ・ Turn off the smartphone to eliminate discharge loss as much as possible

There are other things I learned from the actual charging and points to note, so let's summarize them.

It is hard to shade outdoors and the charging efficiency is good, but in the midsummer sunny weather, the power generation efficiency of the solar charger improves, but the connected smartphone and battery get hot, and a warning may be displayed. Of course, although various measures have been taken to prevent high temperatures on smartphones, be aware that charging may stop or it may cause a malfunction. If such a display appears, it is necessary to stop charging immediately and evacuate to a cool place.

As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to use a long cable and evacuate the solar charger body to the sun and the smartphone in a shadow bag. When charging a mobile battery, it is necessary to avoid high temperatures as with smartphones.

The biggest merit of the solar charger is that it can be charged anywhere as long as the sun is out, but it takes longer to charge than a mobile battery or an outlet. Since it is 13 to 22% in one hour like this time, it takes several hours to charge it to about half. In addition, even indoors, if the panel can receive sunlight, it can be charged, but it was necessary to constantly monitor the situation, such as when the sunlight could not be received by the panel due to the tilt of the sun.

In the experiment, I tried it with the power turned off, so there is a high possibility that the charging efficiency will slow down further when charging with the power turned on or charging while using it.

Also, one of the things I noticed in this experiment was that when charging outdoors, I was worried about theft and couldn't take my eyes off my smartphone. Especially in places where there are many people coming and going, I want to be able to charge within the range that I can see properly, including whether it is charged.

From this, it seems good to prepare a charged mobile battery as the main machine and a solar charger as a sub machine as a disaster preparedness.

Smartphones are indispensable for everyday life, but in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon, they are a means of contact with family and friends, and are also the cornerstone of lifelines such as collecting information. In such a case, why not review the preparations around your smartphone by referring to this article, such as a solar charger that can be charged only with sunlight.