It’s the season of giving. The Sun is constantly giving off free energy, why not use it in your next project? Check out Adafruit’s solar power gift guide to find the perfect gift for your green loving friend or make your next energy efficient project!
Available At Adafruit
Large 6V 3.7W Solar Panel: Harness even more power from the sun with this nice big solar panel. We had these custom made for us when customers let us know they needed more than what our 2W panel could provide. This panel is a 12-cell (6V) assembly mounted onto a fiberglass PCB and covered with PET plastic which protects the cells without reducing efficiency. The back has two soldering spots to easily connect and is conformal coated. The panel is thus fairly strong and lightweight but isn’t completely waterproof (since you’ll have the exposed soldering on the back. However if you place this in a box or mount it so the back is encased, it’ll be just fine. Read more
Flexible 6V 1W Solar Panel: This flexible easy-to-use solar panel is a great addition to your next solar powered project. This solar cell provides approximately 6V DC in direct sunlight at up to 1W (approximately 160 mA). Multiple units can be chained serial and/or parallel to increase voltage and current.
The film cells are bonded between two plastic sheets that will protect it outdoors and there are easy-to-solder connections on the back. You can use epoxy to waterproof the back contacts.
Team this up with a lithium polymer battery and our optimized Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger! and you’ve got a flexible solar-rechargeable portable power supply!
Huge 6V 5.6W Solar panel: These panels come to us from Voltaic Systems, makers of fine solar-powered bags and packs. These are waterproof, scratch resistant, and UV resistant. They use a high efficiency monocrystalline cell. They output 6V at 930 mA via 3.5mm x 1.3mm DC jack connector – a nice upgrade to the 2W or 3W panels we have been carrying. The substrate is an aluminum / plastic composite, specifically designed to be strong and lightweight. They can easily stand up to typical outdoor use including being dropped and leaned on. They’re very high quality and suggested for projects that will be exposed to the outdoors. These now come with 4 plastic mounting screws which makes it easy to attach the panel, even to fabric! Read more
Volta Racers Solar Motorcar Kit: Never go looking for some AAA’s again, this solar racer car requires no batteries! The Volta Racer Solar Motorcar Kit contains all of the necessary parts required to successfully assemble your car – including the worlds first flexible polycrystalline silicon solar cell used for powering toys.
No special tools or batteries are required – just your hands! Makes for a great first electronics toy or project. Read more
Snap Circuits® Green – Elenco SCG-125: Learn about energy sources and how to “think green”. Build over 125 projects and learning about environmentally friendly energy and how electricity works. Includes full-colored manual with over 100 pages and separate educational manual. Features-Hand Crank-Solar Cell-FM Radio-Energy Compartment-Rechargeable Battery-Windmill-Clock and Analog Meter. Compatible with the Snap Circuits family of electronic learning kits. Read more
Round Solar Panel Skill Badge: This skill badge is self-fulfilling! Normally you would get the badge after the project is done, but in this case, the badge can be part of the project! The solar panel is epoxied into a round disc 55mm diameter (about 2.2 inches), its rugged and looks cool besides. We include a sticky foam pin back you can attach to the back of the panel to mount it onto a backpack, jacket or sash.
Of course, it also is a perfectly functional solar panel. There are 10 slivers of solar cell inside for a 5V rated voltage in sun. The output is about 40mA when in bright sun, less in shade or cloudy weather. You can use this to power small, low power projects with a small low power microcontroller or chip and maybe an LED. Read more
USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger – v2: Make your projects to go green this summer with our specialized USB/Solar Lithium Ion Polymer Battery charger! This charger is a very unique design, perfect for outdoor projects, or DIY iPod chargers. We’ve spent over a year testing and tinkering with this charger to come up with a plug and play solution to charging batteries with the sun and we’re really pleased with what we ended up with. Read more
Make A Solar Charging Handbag: Welcome to the summer of solar! Why not soak up some free power from the sun? Charge your gadgets on the go by making your own solar battery charger, then affix it to your favorite handbag or backpack. This is a fun soldering project you can build in an afternoon!
When you’re out in the sun (or as long as your bag is), the battery charges up. You can simultaneously charge your phone when the sun is bright, and the battery will keep supplying juice long after the sun goes down. Full tutorial
Available Elsewhere
14 in 1 Educational Solar Robot Kit: The solar powered robot can be transformed into 14 different robot modes which include a multitude of comical and functional movements. The user can easily change from a wagging-tail, running beetle, walking crab, surfer, speedster or to a ‘zombie chaser’. The robot kit provides unique accessories (included) and parts that make the robot move on land and water. Read more
ECEEN Water Backpack With 7 Watts Solar Powered Bicycle Backpack Charging for iPhone: Take Your Power with Smart phones, Tablets, MP3 Players, GPS Units and more while Camping, Hiking and more Outdoor Activities!
Charges your smart phone, tablets using the waterproof solar power battery – Battery Capacity:10000mAh
Solar Power Bag is a strong, durable, stylish, flexible backpack made by Nylon material.
Includes 7 watts 22% efficiency solar panel, a 8 liter durable waterproof backpack, 1.8Litres Camel Bag and most popular Micro USB cables included.
Include Waterproof 10000mAh Power Battery Pack, Sleek lithium polymer battery is lightweight & powerful, it’s fully charged by sun in just 6 hours, fully charged by outlet in just 6 hours. The battery can charge full 3-4 mobile phones Read more
Adafruit Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2014
Here are your 2014 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control.
Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. Last year UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays.
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 12, 2014 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive in time for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 17, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 18, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 19, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for UPS or USPS.
Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday– December 12, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 21, 2014. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/14.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 5, 2015. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.
Gift Certificates are always available at any time.
When in doubt contact us!
