ECE.05 – Portable Hybrid Charging Station

• Brian Aranda
• Pedro Carbajal
• Daniel Jawor
• Binh Nguyen

There are not many outdoor charging stations at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) as well as other public spaces. Electronic devices have become crucial to everyone and have been frequently used for daily activities, so it becomes necessary to have a space where people can charge their devices in order to keep up with their daily tasks. However, using the devices requires users to charge their batteries. This means that if users do not charge their devices before going out, they will need a solution to supply the power for their devices, especially in public spaces. The objective of this project is to create a portable hybrid solar/thermoelectric charger, used for outdoor purposes, that allows users to charge their electronic devices. The charger system converts the sunlight and the solar heat to electricity, and then is ready to use for charging while also storing energy in the battery while not in use. Other products in the market are at best 20-30% efficient when collecting energy from the sunlight, and they are still not portable enough for users. Our design focuses on increasing solar energy harvesting efficiency and building a model that is portable. We will use a solar tracking system to maximize solar light absorption from the solar panel and Thermoelectric generators will be used to boost energy harvesting through the solar heat that is dissipating on the solar panel.