Ask HN: Why are calculators one of the only consumer devices with solar panels? - adrian_mrd
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mdorazio
This is actually an interesting question. I think it comes down to two things:

1) Frequency of use

2) Overall power requirement

Calculators are kind of an ideal use for solar panels because people generally
only use them for a minute or two at a time and often won't touch them for
days. And on top of that, modern calculators use so little power it's frankly
ridiculous. We're talking a couple hundred microwatts during use. In
comparison, I have trouble thinking of devices with equivalent usage and power
characteristics - most devices we use intermittently have pretty high power
requirements while in use, especially when you consider that indoor lighting
is awful for generating solar energy.

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dchuk
Watches

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h2odragon
Depends on what kind of consumer you are. People with animals to care for and
contain are quite likely to have a solar powered electric fence charger. The
cheap "yard lights" are ubiquitous where there are yards.

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gus_massa
Note that most "solar panels" in calculators are fake. They have a small
battery inside.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTDuGhqE2w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTDuGhqE2w)
and [https://tedium.co/2017/08/09/calculators-fake-solar-
charging...](https://tedium.co/2017/08/09/calculators-fake-solar-charging/)

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PaulHoule
Some luxury cars have solar panels embedded on the roof that can run the fans
when the car is in the sun so it is not so hot inside when you get back.

I thought about bolting my own solar panel onto the roof of my car and
diverting power to the fan but you would need some kind of transfer switch and
the electrical system isn't partitioned to make it easy.

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mimixco
The short answer is that it takes large panels to generate any significant
amount of power, larger than would fit on a most consumer devices.

