Solarcell

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: design concept 2007

design:
Pichaya Puttorngul

Solarcell gives people the freedom to harness solar energy in everyday life. And more importantly, it alters the habits and perceptions of how a product should be consumed.

The concepts of disposability and recycling shorten the expectations of a modern product’s longevity and life span. The convenience of consuming new products may be easy, but it is not necessarily the most beneficial for our future. Reusing is far better than recycling.

Solarcell is a self-recharging battery using integrated soft solar panel technology. The combination of these two simple technologies converts a regular battery, with a limited lifespan, into a renewable energy source. The product eliminates every subsequent expense (in terms of cost, materials, energy and environmental impact) by reviving its usefulness.

Disguised in a familiar facade, the innovation is hidden within. The AA battery case contains the soft solar panel, which is wrapped around the rechargeable AAA-sized battery core. Pull the protruding tab to reveal the soft solar panel, leave the solar panel exposed to the sun, and when finished, turn the positive end of the battery clockwise to retract the panel back into the housing.