Solar Watch Charging: The Debate Rages!

I’ve only been in the Casio game only a few months but I’ve discovered that enthusiasts have more opinions on the “right” way to charge a solar watch than Baptists have about baptism. On the forums and social media groups, solar watch charging has been debated for decades. When a newbie posts concerns about his new watch arriving with a low charge, a battle of solar wits ensues . . .

The Charge of the Light Brigade

When a Casio needs a charge to to keep on keeping on is not up for discussion. Here’s the official and universally accepted 411 from one of my G-SHOCK manuals:

The time required to bring a Casio up to speed? Also not a hot topic.

Here’s what Casio’s wonks recommend re: the amount of charging needed to power solar G-SHOCK watches for one day. To “break even” operations-wise.

You’d be amazed at how many Casio buyers never RTFM. Here’s another salient chart, revealing the requirements to raise their solar watch battery charge from one functional level to the next.

Nature vs nurture

From here, we go straight into the weeds. In the ongoing debate over how to charge their solar watch, Casiophiles divide into two distinct camps: naturalists vs gizmologists.

Naturalists are adamant! Use natural sunlight to charge your solar watch. For one thing, it’s free. For another, it’s green. Using an artificial light source to charge your solar watch is “wasteful” – contrary to the natural helio-horological creed. Not so fast, Mr. Bond . . .

The practice assumes you’re a one-watch man or woman. Its success also depends on where you spend most of your day – outdoors or a fluorescently-lit office. And whether or not you wear long sleeves.

Naturalists have an answer, of course. Put your watch collection outside for an occasional sunbathing session. To quote Meatloaf, you got to do what you can and let Mother Nature do the rest.

The issue here: the potential for your watch to overheat. So some naturalists prefer to leave their watches on an indoor window sill.

Either way, the “natural approach” to charging a solar watch battery works. Ah, but how well? Let’s look at the “free” options from a “scientific” perspective.

Solar charging by the numbers

Outside:

Inside:

The angle of the dangle

In case you didn’t make it to Physics class, the intensity of natural sunlight reaching any given stationary point is in constant flux due to moving clouds. And the Earth’s rotation; as the planet spins, the incidental angle of solar exposure is changing constantly (casting shadows). This holds true whether the location is a window sill or in the middle of your backyard.

The following photos were taken seconds apart in the same location. Only the angle is changed.

There’s another issue with leaving your solar watch outside. Depending on where you live, there’s the possibility of four-legged critters, winged critters or two-legged critters running off with your precious timepieces. Crows, raccoons and people are attracted to shiny objects.

Technology, bitches!

Gizmologists claim to have a better (i.e. easier) way to charge their solar watch: technology! One clear favorite: the USB-powered LED CoolFire Solar Watch Charger. Available on Amazon for $30 (no commission on link), it’s designed to charge a single solar watch.

When naturalists aren’t harping on about global warming, they object to the $30 cost. Others point out that the gizmo isn’t as bright as the sun. Who knew? Maybe they’re waiting for a cold fusion charger.

The LED CoolFire comes close. The company claims their invention puts out 30k lux, which is about the equivalent of direct sun through a window. In fact, TTAW testing reveals that Timechant undersold their light’s output.

The CoolFire puts out almost as much light power as a solar watch receives in direct sunlight, and far more energy than it would absorb in direct sunlight in a window. [Note: after many hours on the charger, a solar watch gets barely perceptibly warm.  Not hot.  Just warm.]

No question: the CoolFire is more convenient and reliable than Mother Nature. You can throw your watch on it and leave it there for hours, cozy and secure, while you’re at work or out living your life (wearing a different G-SHOCK, of course). But what if you want to charge multiple watches at one time and don’t want to pay $30 a throw? Scotty, I need more power!

Farm livin’ is the life for me

Hands up. I’m a gizmologist. A G-SHOCK owner who addresses the multiple solar watch charging issue without worrying one wit about rising sea levels (and I live on the coast of Florida!).

Unsatisfied with the current state of play in the technosphere, I’ve invented a “solar farm” to maintain the “H” charge on my solar watches using an LED “sun therapy” lamp (no commission on link).

It’s all on auto-pilot with a timer. I’ve found that one hour per day, three days per week is adequate to maintain the charge.

How effective is this light? With the light sensor placed in the center of my watch box under the glass lid, directly under the sun therapy lamp, it registers slightly better (24,100 lux) than the measurement I got in the window with direct sunlight (21,300 lux).

My collection quickly grew into a second box, so I pushed it up next to the first box and took a measurement at the closest edge. To demonstrate how quickly the light intensity falls off as you move away from the source, I put the sensor in the middle of the second box and took a measurement there, too.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the whole recharging issue is something of a storm in a teacup.Many of Casio’s solar watches have a “Power Saving” function. Once activated, it turns the display off (stops analog hands) to conserve power. In this dormant state, in pitch black, they can maintain a charge for months.

It should be known that allowing the batteries to deep-discharge significantly degrades their lifespan. Keeping them topped off or nearly fully charged, with either the naturalist or gizmologist approach, will prolong the life of the solar-rechargeable batteries.

Why can’t we all just get along?

You can safely file this post under first world problems. In a free country, you can choose whatever solar watch charging method affirms your green credentials and/or caters to your ongoing desire for budget, practicality and efficiency. But I will say this about that: if man were meant to charge his watch in the sun, he wouldn’t have invented the United Kingdom.

Here’s a summary of the relative intensity of various light sources as measured by my light meter: