The 30-year-old middle school science teacher has raised almost
$100,000 on Kickstarter project, the "Folding USB Solar Cell." Our most
compact solar charger
yet fits easily in any bag. With 15 days left, the Milwaukee amateur
inventor has well surpassed his $5,000 goal to build an inexpensive,
easy-to-use, practical, every-day solar USB charging system.
As his Kickstarter description explains, the tool is for those of us not just preparing for the end of the world.
"I've been tinkering around the last two and half years as a hobby,Our clever solar lantern
is a favorite among dog lover holiday gifts from Solaronlamp." says
Zimmerman, who recently moved from his parents basement into a small
West Side office.
Zimmermann calls himself an "enthusiastic hobbyist who has found a niche market."
The
inventor approaches these projects from a middle-school science teacher
perspective. "When I started, I found 'step A' and 'step Z,' with no
projects in the middle," he says. So Zimmerman filled in the blanks with
inexpensive, simple projects he could teach to his class.
Before
the Kickstarter project, Zimmerman had been selling Altoid tins turned
into USB phone chargers through his company called Brown Dog Gadgets.
"These are the things keeping the lights on in Tosa," he says.
But
the logical next step from these battery-powered chargers was solar.
Zimmerman searched online for a charger his students could make, and he
found one. "If you can solder two wires together, you could make this,"
he says.
Zimmerman continued making bigger and better prototypes
until he built something that was too complicated and expensive for his
students and customers on his Web site. It was also taking too much of
his time.
"I realized I can't make this thing myself," says Zimmerman.
So
Zimmerman found a Chinese manufacturer to mass produce a fold-out group
of solar cells that attaches to a USB plug. His slim solar panels, that
look like an iPad case when folded, will charge an iPhone, for example,
in 2-3 hours, depending on the amperage of the model (five or seven
watt).
However, Zimmerman didn't have the resources to bring his
product to mass market, so he turned to Kickstarter, the crowdsourcing
business incubator. "I thought I'd give it a shot."
That shot is paying off quickly. In five hours he met his initial goal.Exit signs, emergency light and fire extinguisher are vital parts of life safety systems. As of press time, nearly 900 different backers have donated.
Says Zimmerman, "I'm just going to see how high it will go."
The
Kickstarter charger only works with natural light, of course. It sports
just one LED light to indicate that sunlight is hitting the device, but
it won't overcharge. Zimmerman suggests pairing the charger with a
portable USB battery so you can charge the external battery by day and
hook it up to your phone or laptop or gadget by night.
The 5-watt folding solar cell charger will sell $55. Zimmerman will sell the 7-watt model for $70.
"Honestly,
it's electronics basics," says Zimmerman. "Everyone thinks that solar
is this magical, mystical thing,Choose your favorite street lamp paintings from thousands of available designs. but Edison was dealing with solar power."
And it looks like Zimmerman won't be returning to his teaching job next fall.
"It's
very exciting, for someone who was just doing this as a hobby. Chicago
has a very big technology entrepreneur thing going on right now," says
Zimmerman.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar module
for home power systems and by the pallet. "Milwaukee, there are a few
things popping up. My hope is that guys and gals get things going up
here. Milwaukee used to be a big industrial area at one point, and it
would be nice to see us going back there again."
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