Changers Solar Charger kit offers rewards to sun-capturing members

By Kelly Montgomery Published October 21, 2011

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you don’t believe in global warming and hate the sight of hippie youth, you should probably stop reading now and return to the home page. If the powers of the sun intrigue you and you actually care about lowering worldwide CO2 emissions, then we’ve got a brand new project that might also pique your interest. The Changers Starter Kit ($149) gives users the chance to create (or harvest, more like it) their own solar power and also be involved in a social community and rewards program.

The concept starts with the actual solar charger, which consists of a Changers Maroshi solar module (roughly the size of your 13-inch computer screen) and a Changers Kalhuohfummi (say that five times fast) solar battery. The solar module is used to harvest solar energy during daytime hours, and that energy is then used to charge the portable solar battery, which has enough power to fully charge your iPhone twice at any time of day. What happens next is what differentiates this project from every other solar charger out there, and there are many. Changers users are then able to share their stats on solar power creation and how much CO2 they are saving in a social community and through Twitter. These stats are tracked by the Kalhuohfummi solar battery and converting energy earns you credits that can be redeemed for prizes and perks in a rewards program.

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No word yet on what kind of rewards we’re talking about, but we like the idea of providing an incentive program for active users. If you’re not into the whole renewable energy movement, maybe joining a social community and sharing your solar charging on Twitter is a little much, but who doesn’t like getting rewards for something that is already beneficial to your daily life? Keep that solar battery handy and you can charge just about anything that juices up with a USB cable. We’re curious to see how the social community works and what kinds of rewards are offered. The starter kit is available for pre-order and will begin shipping around November 15.

Kelly Montgomery

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kelly Montgomery is a magazine journalism graduate from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications…

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