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SunTable Solar-Powered Gadget Charger Goes on Sale
Posted by Kit Eaton at 6:28 PM on August 8, 2008
Back in December we introduced you to SunTable: a photovoltaic solar-power generating table designed to juice up your gadgets in an eco-friendly style. And now the table's available for purchase. The stainless steel and teak production version charges up in about four hours of bright sun exposure (there's a hinge so you can angle it properly if you need to) and delivers about four hours of 12V after that. It comes with a built-in inverter, so it has regular power sockets that you can plug your gadgets into, and is designed to be weatherproof, easy to disassemble and even recycle. That's about it: it's a table with a solar generator built in... doesn't get much simpler than that! Oh—it does cost US$2,200, so it's most likely to appeal to really rich eco-warriors. [SunTable]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Bauer22
Posted 7:41 PM 8/8/08
Don't think of it as $2,000 for a table. Think of it as $2,200 pass to score any hippie chick you want.
Bauer22
SupaPhly
Posted 7:30 PM 8/8/08
now there's a better reason to use the laptop outside
SupaPhly
arcanedark
Posted 8:13 PM 8/8/08
"oh shit i spilled juice on it..."
now i got a $2,200 piece of crap...
... should have just gone to ikea.
lol.
arcanedark
Kit Eaton
Posted 8:25 PM 8/8/08
@arcanedark: "Weatherproof" ... see that pic with water splashes on it?
Kit Eaton
Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish
Posted 10:17 PM 8/8/08
@arcanedark: Just don't operate on any xenomorphs on this table.
Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish
PridgNYC
Posted 10:44 PM 8/8/08
Uh, you don't measure output in time volts "4 hours of 12 volts" you measure it in Amps-time or Watts/time. To be more accurate, the table charges in 4 hours, and provides 13 AmpHours or 156 Watts/hour. With a max output of 150 Watts, you would be out of power within 1 hour.
PridgNYC
Killjoy
Posted 10:37 PM 8/8/08
At that price, they really should have thrown in the table tennis accessories for free.
Killjoy
ANoel
Posted 11:15 PM 8/8/08
@PridgNYC:
What if I plugged in and shone a sunlamp on it?
ANoel
waza
Posted 12:25 AM 9/8/08
thats cool, doesn't look so bad too ... we'll have to buy this in the next 5 years if we want to save the planet
waza
liquidsoapdispenser
Posted 12:11 AM 9/8/08
@arcanedark: Since actual solar panels are made to endure being outdoors for decades (Sunpower, for example, offers a 25 year warranty), I would think it not too difficult to make this table spill-resistant.
liquidsoapdispenser
Navin R Johnson
Posted 12:44 AM 9/8/08
WTF, 64 Watt table for $2200.
That's 35 bucks a watt!
You can get an 170 Watt Evergreen panel for $750 (less than $5 per watt)
Oh and P.S. solar panels come weather proof, they're for outside, remember? Everygreen even guarantees their panels to 80 lbs/sq foot snow load for crying out loud.
Let's review:
65 Watt panel = $320
100 Watt power inverter = $14
Ikea KLINGSBO table = $70
Batt backup unit = $150
Total price = $554
Navin R Johnson
Denver_80203
Posted 12:29 AM 9/8/08
I'm guessing it also doubles as a cook-top grill for your hotdogs, laptop, heels, small children.
That sucker must get HOT in the sun.
Denver_80203
Y2KGTP
Posted 1:09 AM 9/8/08
Doesn't having a table that you can't put anything on it (as you reduce the ability to charge something) defeat the purpose of it being a table?
Y2KGTP
geekpi
Posted 1:17 AM 9/8/08
@Denver_80203:
My well ventilated, rooftop solar panels get around 125 degrees F on a sunny summer day. Since this mounts the battery to the backside, I'd expect it to hold more heat. So yeah, uncomfortably hot.
Also, as the heat goes up, the output of the panels go down - around a 20% decline at 140 F.
geekpi
Justifan
Posted 3:15 AM 9/8/08
probably green wash.
how many years of average use just to offset its own creation?
probably something way beyond its lifespan:P
Justifan
RDReavis
Posted 11:01 PM 8/8/08
Expensive, even for a solar panel. It's about $1000 for a 200W panel at this point...and their website has interesting errors such as a power capacity of "156 Watt / hours", not Watt-Hours. And I'm pretty sure that Watt / hour is not a unit of capacity. Goes to show how desperate people are to jump to "green" technologies, no matter how much of a rip-off they might be. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to live off-grid, but not by buying a bloody overpriced table.
RDReavis