Tespack, a recently created Finnish startup company, is focused on bringing renewable energy into everyday items. The goal of the startup is to provide bikers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts with quick and simple access to solar energy. The key idea here is to make solar panels user-friendly enough for everyday use with no special skills required. A good example of this approach is a number of solar-enabled backpacks that can be used (apart from all the other things you’d expect from a backpack) to charge portable electronic devices.
Tespack was born out of a company named Electriel, which were specialized in the development of equipment for solar panels and wind turbines. According to the founders, the name “Tespack” was chosen in honor of Nikola Tesla, famous Serbian-American inventor and a pioneer of wireless energy transfer, best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system.
The company plans to produce all kinds of everyday items that would double as solar energy generators, such as backpacks, luggage carriers and intelligent clothing. Already on the market are several types of innovative solar backpacks available in different sizes, shapes and power capacities. Tespack also offers two kinds of battery banks that are compatible with the backpacks and can be used to store solar energy for later use. Additionally, the company makes several types of replacement solar panels and provides an option to fit one solar panel into two different backpacks. An example of how it is done can be seen on a video below.
The system is designed to be a simple as possible so that it can be used by people with no knowledge of electronics. The user only needs to plug in one cable to connect his laptop or cell phone to the battery bank. Depending on the model, fully charged batteries provide 3.5 to 5 hours of laptop run time or can be used to charge a cell phone up to 12 times.
Another feature of the Tespack solar panels is that they can be used under harsh weather conditions, like rain or snow. All the solar panels are made of epoxy resin and fiberglass and, according to the Tespack, were tested to be waterproof and sand-proof. The panels can also melt small scratches with the heat received from the sun.
What makes Tespack solar backpacks stand out among other solutions for portable power (like a biomass powered fuel cell that can be charged from a campfire or a portable cooking pot that can turn water into electricity) is that they are easy to carry around and use absolutely no fuel or energy sources except for the sun.
