Within the self-consumption solutions, we find many options of all types and sizes. Among them, a few years ago, a curious gadget stood out: the solar plug. What is a solar plug, and how does it work? Is it a solution to self-consumption? Can you find any such device today? We tell you everything you need to know about this peculiar invention.

What Is the Solar Plug?

It is a plug similar to any other you have at home, except that it has a suction cup on the back that allows you to stick it to a window where the sun shines. In this way, the plug can collect solar energy and convert it into electrical energy. Thus, when you connect something to the socket outlet (เต้าเสียบ เต้ารับ which is the term in Thai) that you have pasted on the window, you can charge your mobile or any other small device.

In short, it is a portable plug with which you can get energy wherever you are whenever it is sunny.

How Does Solar Plug Work?

The solar plug system is downright ingenious. Behind the suction cup on the back, which was used to stick it to a windowpane, a small photovoltaic plate was capable of converting sunlight into electrical current. The solar plug also had a small built-in battery. In this way, if you connected something when it was on the window, it would charge it directly, but if it was not glued and exposed to the sun, you could also charge your mobile thanks to the energy stored in the battery.

According to its creators, the solar plug could be fully charged in about 5 or 8 hours, depending on the light, and withstand that charge for up to 10 hours. At a time when power banks were not as widespread as now, and the interest in photovoltaic energy was beginning to emerge, the solar plug was a great small innovation.