What is it?
We live in a digitally connected world of constant communication where the number of mobile phones and other portable multimedia devices is constantly growing. All these devices require energy to work and when the battery is empty it can be extremely frustrating.
Strawberry Energy took this familiar problem and independently developed an innovative idea for the first free-to-use public solar charger for phones, tablets and multimedia players.
The Strawberry Tree is a solar charger for portable devices, which is permanently installed in busy public places, such as streets, parks and squares. By harnessing the energy of the sun, it enables passers to charge their mobile devices when they need it most –far from home and with an empty battery.
Patent pending...
How does it work?
A Strawberry Tree contains built-in solar panels, which capture the energy of the sun and enable it to be transformed into electrical energy. As this energy is then stored in rechargeable batteries, it does not even need fine weather to be useful. A Strawberry Tree can still pump out public energy without sun.
It could not be simpler to use. Just sit on the integrated benches, plug in a mobile phone, multimedia player, or any similar portable device, and press a button to start charging. Maximum charging interval at once is 15 minutes, after which you can press the button again and start a new one. During the night, the Strawberry Tree uses an economic and energy efficient light, making it safe to use even after dark.
As well as using 100% clean energy received directly from the Sun, the Strawberry Tree is very effective at making the most of the energy it has stored. Chargers built within the Strawberry Tree are four times more efficient than regular ones, using considerably less energy during recharging. That means that, if all the people in Serbia charged their mobile phones on a Strawberry Tree, more than four thousand households could have been run off the energy saved.
Innovation
The inventiveness of this solar-powered system is reflected in the way Strawberry Energy has taken existing technologies and translated them into a supremely practical purpose – the Strawberry Tree. As such, this highly practical innovation represents a unique technological leap forward in ecological energy use for all.
International organisations and leading business bodies have recognised the importance of work being undertaken by Strawberry Energy and the value of products developed by them. Awards have come in quick and fast as the full potential of the innovation is realised.
Socialisation and education
The Strawberry Tree makes renewable energy sources available to everyone and makes significant steps in making clear the benefits of renewable energy sources. Rather than being bombarded with cold facts and figures from the green lobby, users of a Strawberry Tree experience the practical value of this key ecological concept.
Each Strawberry Tree is a recharging point in more ways than one, serving as an ideal place for gathering with rest or simply to stop and rest in towns and other public places. Each unit has bench seating, partial roofing for weather protection and sufficient connections for most types of mobile phones and similar portable devices.
To date, eight Strawberry Tree solar systems have been set up in Serbia and usage has shown these to be popular places to meet and recharge.
This is only the start of a much grander scheme, though, with rapidly advancing plans for Strawberry Energy to establish a forest of Strawberry Trees in Serbia and across the world.