The invention of Kyuho Song and Boa Oh
Faced with a cost of electricity which is increasingly weighing on the household budget, consumers and researchers wish to explore alternatives to traditional energy sources. In this context, a Korean invention attracts attention: the “Window Socket”, or “Fatrifice”.
The idea, as simple as it is ingenious, was born from the spirit of two young South Korean engineers, Kyuho Song and Boa Oh, former students of the Samsung Art and Design Institute. Their concept? Combine photovoltaic solar panel technology with the convenience of a conventional electrical outlet, in order to obtain a wireless, portable and rechargeable socket via solar energy.
The “Window Socket” is in the form of a small case incorporating a standard electrical outlet, connected to a miniature solar panel on the back of the device. A suction cup makes it possible to fix the whole on any glass surface exposed to the sun. The panel then captures solar energy, converts it into electricity and stores it in an internal battery. The user only has to connect their devices to feed them.
A nomadic socket, promise of energy autonomy
One of the major advantages of the Window Socket lies in its portability. Once loaded, it detaches from the window and turns into an external battery, offering an extra source of energy on the move. Imagine being able to recharge your smartphone or tablet during a hike, a train trip, or just in any place without electrical sockets.
This energy autonomy seduces all the more that it is free, or almost. By exploiting an inexhaustible and free resource, the sun, the Window Socket would significantly reduce the household electricity bill, while reducing their carbon footprint.
Current limits and challenges to be met
Despite its undeniable potential, the Window Socket comes up against technical limitations for the moment. Its storage capacity, currently limited to 1000 mAh, is still very far from competing with the batteries of our modern smartphones, which display capacity from 3000 to 5000 mAh, or even more. The Window Socket would therefore allow, in its current version, only partial recharge of most electronic devices. In addition, the load speed depends on the sunshine, which can be problematic in the slightly sunny regions or during the winter months. The efficiency of the device could also be affected by the orientation of the window, the presence of obstacles (trees, buildings) and the quality of the glazing.
Presented for the first time over seven years ago, the Window Socket is still at the prototype stadium. Kyuho Song and Boa Oh continue to work to improve their invention, seeking to increase its storage capacity, its load speed and its durability. The question of marketing therefore remains unanswered. The cost of production, the profitability of the product and the competition of other renewable energy solutions (conventional solar panels, solar external batteries) are all factors that will determine whether the Window Socket may one day make a place in the middle of all the loading and storage solutions available.
Beyond the Window Socket: the search for decentralized energy
The buzz around the Window Socket is no coincidence. It highlights a major fundamental trend: the growing appetite of the public for decentralized, autonomous and accessible energy solutions. No more time when we were passively satisfied with the traditional electrical network and fossil fuels. Consumers are looking for alternatives, and tech is present:
The democratization of individual solar panels is already underway. Thanks to lower costs and increasing performance, producing your own electricity becomes child’s play. Coupled with ever more efficient domestic batteries, these systems not only reduce its bill, but also to increase its independence from the network. Multiple options, ranging from DIY kits to key to key facilities, are now available to individuals.
In parallel, research on the materials used for solar cells goes further and further: research teams work on organic, lighter, more flexible and potentially cheaper solar cells to produce than conventional photovoltaic cells.
And the sockets are not the only ones to evolve: the whole habitat is now likely to transform to embrace energy autonomy. Solar tiles, photovoltaic glazing, and even wall coverings incorporating solar cells … Construction materials become intelligent and energy producers. These technologies, initially reserved for avant-garde architectural projects, gradually democratize. The house of tomorrow will not be content to consume: it will produce its energy, becoming a real micro-central in its own right.
A window open to the future of energy
The Window Socket may not be a first step towards a larger energy revolution. If it does not yet manage to impose itself on the market, it will at least have the merit of stimulating reflection and opening new perspectives. The future of energy will probably be decentralized, renewable and accessible to all. It remains to be seen what technologies and innovations will be able to materialize this vision.
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