Isn’t it great when new technology meets beautiful design? From a small tube that transforms into a fully functioning portable gas stove to 3D printer pens, we’ve come up with wonderful ways to merge practicality with aesthetics for a seamless user experience that is easy to learn, and impossible to forget. Enter the Window Socket by Kyuho Song & Boa Oh, a solar powered window socket. The simplicity of both its design and application makes you wonder why no one else had come up with the concept before.
How does the solar powered window socket work?
The beauty of the Window Socket comes in it’s ease of use – simply attach it to a window on a sunny day and revel in the glory that is a completely free-to-use power socket. The suction cup on it’s reverse makes application unbelievable simply, and it’s simple design means it’s not an eye-sore like many of the more traditional portable solar panel phone chargers. Currently, it’s capacity is matched to that of a 1000mAh battery, enough to power a mobile phone or tablet.
- On an airplane in-flight
- In a car or bus on a long journey
- On the train
- Camping or hiking (swap the window for a nice spot in the sun)
- In the airport waiting lounge
- In a hotel room in another country, alleviating the need for a travel adapter
- At home to save on power bills for charging low power devices such as mobile phones, shavers or electric toothbrushes.
The possibilities are enormous. But there’s still a ways to go in developing the product and releasing it to the public. The Window Socket remains a concept, but all great devices do begin this way and so we can surely expect a release date, subsequent versions and socket types in the near future.
The designers have said they hope to increase its efficiency, energy storage and charge time. The 1000mAh battery on the Window Socket is very small and would not yet able to power household appliances. While it can provide 10 continuous hours of power on a full charge, it presently takes about 5-8 hours in the sun to fully charge.
Despite the product being in very early-phases, the concept is exciting and we hope to hear more developments very soon!
