Technology for a Solar-Punk future.
Airships and hydroponic farms...
I discovered this point a few months ago. I left my laptop's native power cable somewhere, and I was pretty concerned because I needed to use it. And someone plugged a USB-C in and I was like, "Wait, what? What did you just do?"
The guy explains that most laptops can charge using any ordinary USB-C cable. And I was just astounded. It's so simple and intelligent. It's like... maybe there is hope for our civilization after all.
Oh, laptop chargers were the absolute worst - like the early days of cell phones before the EU mandated some much-needed sanity. Every brand had their own style of plug, and even different models of the same brand used different styles. Even if the plugs, voltages, and wattage were the same (e.g. some HP and Dell), you still couldn't use them interchangeably. Getting a replacement was typically expensive, and it would only work on that laptop.
USB-C PD is game changing in that regard. Even without being able to power all manner of other devices, it's finally broken the proprietary stranglehold on laptop chargers. I'm also pretty optimistic about the reduction in e-waste we're going to see. Doesn't do anything for all the old power bricks in the wild, but at least we're heading in the right direction.
thereβs also the de facto standards β the TS100 (first of the new generation of soldering irons) based charging off the Lenovo power brick not because it was a standard but because everyone already had one laying around
with USB-C weβre in one of those rare periods where ubiquitous and standards actually overlap β¦
I hope the future is universal. I think it will be in the EU at least.
Sorry UK
Lol, I'm sure the UK will still benefit. I'm from the US, and we've benefited from the EU's mandates for micro- and then USB-C charging standards on mobile phones. That's mostly because it's unprofitable to produce physically different models for each market, but hey, I'll take it.
To add a little bit of solarpunk to this: I'm charging my battery stack via solar power with a dedicated USB c in/out slot. It is smart connector indeed.
Nice. I'm in the "thought experiment" phase of doing something similar.
All of my servers, except my storage, are USFF PCs which can easily run from a PD trigger adapter. I've been tempted to power those through some 12v PD adapters and run them from DC fed from a solar-charged battery bank.
I will have to google a few things here but that sounds next level. But quite fittingly, I will connect a Pi soon, running Mastodon as a test
Which panel do you have?
I have a Chinese brand, ordered from Hanoi, so nothing special. In fact, I'm still chasing connecting cables. A bit annoying.
I agree, USB-C is magic and I want it everywhere !
I have a USB-C hub at work and at home. When I arrive with my laptop I can just plug the USB-C and I have the screen, keyboard, mouse, power and Ethernet connected instantly. Same thing at home, where I'm sharing the desk with my wife. Whoever is using the desk just need to plug their laptop with the USB-C and that's it !
Even better, one day I arrived at work and realized I forgot my laptop. No problem, I just plugged my smartphone on the hub AND IT WORKED ! I just had to do a remote desktop on our server from the phone and I could work for the day !
What's the significance of the different voltage options? Is there a downside beyond slow charging? I pretty much just plug in any USB-C device into any random USB-C charger, except for some higher wattage fast chargers for my phone.
For the most part, the different voltages aren't a concern. However, I want to be able to charge my laptop which requires 20V. A lot of Power Delivery chargers that are designed for phones/tables will only output 15V at most, though usually only 9, 12, or whatever the spec is for Quick Charge.
Getting one that supports the full PD range makes it more universal.
Good to know, thanks! I think my Macbook is happy with whatever my regular chargers provide (I don't always use the Mac charger), so yay?
Yup - I quite agree. I have a portable powerbank which will also charge gadgets using USB-PD. I fill it up from solar and use it when I'm out and about.
Even my eReader has USB-C. Makes going on holiday much more convenient.
I feel you. I recently got every device in my home to use USB-C (except airpods). I made sure all my chargers power up to 80 watts and no matter what room I'm in or what device I'm using, I just plug it up and it works. What a stress relief that is! Now only if Airpods used USB C charging...
