Could This Be the New Frontier for Power Chairs?
Solar and wind-powered electronics are on the rise. We have more electric cars released every year. I wondered when solar power would be considered for mobility devices. I thought it might be a long way off. It turns out the technology has been tested in countries like Switzerland and Greece. Along the Greek coast, they have a solar-powered chair on a track. The purpose of this chair is for people with disabilities who can transfer feel the water on their feet. The good thing is as long as the weather is good, the chair will work. Luckily, there are plenty of sunny days along the coast of Greece. I don't know if I could fully trust a solar-powered chair at first. I would get worried that I would get stuck in the middle of a busy crosswalk on an overcast day. My chair would start to crawl at a snail's pace, and I could get run over.
I have found two design plans for solar-powered chairs. The first seems to work exactly like a hybrid electric car. You would still have the two lithium batteries that make a power chair move. You would have some solar panels at the top of your chair; you could charge your chair on a day with plenty of sunlight while running errands outside. This design would cost around 13,000 USD.
The other design involved having a solar panel installed on your house. Your chair could charge and be entirely powered by solar energy. I’m not sure how much the chair would cost with the panel installation, but it might pay for itself in a few years.
I would be apprehensive to try it, but it would be better for the environment overall. I’m excited to see if these become more common in the future. It could be the next step in making our world a better place to live.
Stephanie Wyatt has Cerebral Palsy and uses a manual wheelchair. She spends her free time hanging out with her best friend Carmen and her dog Ama Angelica.
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