Personal solar charger broadcasts and rewards users' energy savings
Agriculture & Energy
The German Changers Starter Kit is a solar-powered charging system that lets users see and share information on the CO2 they've saved, while being rewarded with credits at participating stores.
Much the way the solar-powered Puma Phone delivers eco bragging rights in addition to a green-minded smartphone, so too the new Changers Starter Kit goes beyond simply giving users a way to charge their personal electronics. Rather, users of the German solar-powered charging kit can both see and share information on the CO2 they’ve saved, while being rewarded with credits at participating stores.
Priced at USD 149, the Changers Starter Kit includes the Changers Kalhuohfummi solar battery and the Changers Maroshi solar module, along with all the cables and adapters needed for a consumer to produce and consume his or her own clean energy. Users simply find a sunny spot, connect the battery and the solar module together and start harnessing the energy of the sun. Then, when they need to recharge their iPhone, iPad, iPod, Kindle, Android phone or any of 1,000 or so other devices, they attach it to the battery to charge it using the energy they captured. The Changers Kalhuohfummi will recharge the device as fast as a regular charger does, but without tapping into the grid. What’s more, users can upload their energy production statistics to visualize their actual CO2 savings and compare their score with others, sharing the results via Facebook and Twitter. The amount of energy produced is also automatically converted into Changers Credits, which can be spent at retail partners on the Changers Marketplace.
Solar charging is already a win-win for consumers and the environment, but the addition of social aspects and shopping rewards compounds those benefits many times over. This may just be what it takes to sustain consumer interest over time. Retailers around the globe: one to get in on?
Spotted by: Raymond Neo
25th January 2012
Email: info@changers.com
Website: www.changers.com