Solar Powered Headphones: How Do They Work & Are They Worth the Money?

The idea of wireless solar-powered headphones makes a lot of sense on paper as they charge while you use them without ever needing to be close to a wall socket. However, the question is, is the idea really realistic?

Well, this article breaks down what this unique kind of headphones is exactly, how they work, and if they are practical or not. We will also tell you if these headphones are worth your hard-earned cash or not. See How Solar Powered Headphones Work:

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How Do Solar-Powered Headphones Work?

Like solar panels, solar-powered headphones function by converting light into energy and they will keep fulfilling your audio needs, as long as it continues to get their energy juice from the sun. As expected, they work better outside the house than inside since you will be exposed to lots of sunlight.

The idea definitely makes a lot of sense at surface value, because while wireless headphones need to be charged either through a wired charger or a wireless charging pad to work, these solar-powered headphones allow you to wear them to wherever you want without having to worry about running out of battery life, as long as there is proper sunlight around you.

Problems With Solar-Powered Headphones:

1. Reliability:

As amazing as tech devices are, there will always be issues to contend with. As far as solar-powered headphones are concerned, one problem to expect is their reliability. Because it is not always sunny outside, the weather basically decides when you use it. Also, if your headphones don’t have enough battery at night, you will eventually have to depend on a regular charger, which defeats the main purpose of its creation.

2. Overheating:

As you already know, every lithium-ion battery inevitably degrades over time, however, overheating can fasten the process. And because solar energy radiates not just light but also heat, your headphones will overheat and damage the battery if you put them directly under the sun to charge quicker. It then becomes an unwanted dilemma between charging on time and safeguarding your battery health.

3. Overcharging:

Another issue with solar-powered headphones is how their batteries work. It is common knowledge that a battery is supposed to stay near 50% for as long as possible to maximize its overall lifespan, however, because these headphones are always charging under the sun, the possibility that they will sit at 100% charge more often than they should is very high, and this will ruin your battery faster than you expect.

Are Solar-Powered Headphones Worth It?

To answer this question, here are 3 things that solar-powered headphones need to be totally worth the money.

1. Large Battery Reserve:

1. Large Battery Reserve
If the battery will degrade anyway, you might as well start your headphone journey with a big one. This way, the degradation will not affect you that much, and you can still use the device for a minimum of 5 years before it begins to give you trouble.

2. Efficiency:

If the energy conversion in the headphones is not efficient enough, the device will take a very long time to charge, especially when you are indoors or the weather is far from sunny, thereby reducing playtime. To guarantee convenience, this process has to be efficient enough to avoid very sluggish charging.

3. Solid build And Wired Charging Port:

If the thin solar film on the headband ever breaks or gets faulty, you are in big trouble. To avoid this reality, a protective coating is key. Water and dust resistance would also make your device last longer than you want. It also needs to have a wired charging port to charge indoors or at night to ensure reliability.

Solar-Powered Headphones Will Not Suit Everybody:

The fact is that a lot of things have to go right for solar-powered headphones to be accepted worldwide, especially at the high price they presently go for. Some people will rather avoid them due to their obvious restrictions.

Having said that, others who are travelers, live in very sunny places and engage in several outdoor activities absolutely love the idea of solar-powered headphones and they mostly see it as a must-buy. And as far as sustainability is concerned, they are indeed less damaging to the environment than regular wireless headphones.

Photo credit: makeuseof.com

More Information On Headphones:

Headphones (or head-phones in the early days of telephony and radio) traditionally refer to a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user’s ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear.

Headphones are also known as earspeakers, earphones, or, colloquially, cans. Circumaural (‘around the ear’) and supra-aural (‘over the ear’) headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the speakers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces consists of individual units that plug into the user’s ear canal. A third type is bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of headphones and a microphone.

Headphones connect to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player, portable media player, mobile phone, video game console, or electronic musical instrument, either directly using a cord, or using wireless technology such as Bluetooth, DECT, or FM radio. The first headphones were developed in the late 19th century for use by telephone operators, to keep their hands free. Initially, the audio quality was mediocre and a step forward was the invention of high-fidelity headphones.

Headphones are made in a range of different audio reproduction quality capabilities. Headsets designed for telephone use typically cannot reproduce sound with the high fidelity of expensive units designed for music listening by audiophiles. Headphones that use cables typically have either a 1/4 inch (6.35mm) or 1/8 inch (3.5mm) phone jack for plugging the headphones into the audio source. Some stereo earbuds are wireless, using Bluetooth connectivity to transmit the audio signal by radio waves from source devices like cellphones and digital players.

Thanks for reading Solar Powered Headphones: How Do They Work & Are They Worth the Money?. You can click to read about Must-Have Smart Home Devices In 2022.

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