Spring is heating up, and the sun is making its presence felt—in more ways than one. With each season new applications for solar are finding their ways into our lives. This year, you can power your whole spring and summer with these neat solar gadgets that even manage to make working over the weekend a little bit cooler. Plus, you’ll save fuel by swapping out a few common spring appliances. Here are some of our favorite solar-powered products for your sunniest spring yet.
Solar Gadgets For Your Backyard BBQ: A Solar Oven
Cooking in the great outdoors is the perfect way to drink in the mild weather and make dinner at the same time, but lighter fluid and charcoal fumes don’t exactly have the most appetizing aftertaste. Not to mention the environmental impact—Americans burn enough fuel on July 4 to power over 20,000 homes. Instead of struggling to stack and light the coals, consider opting for a solar oven, like the GoSun Grill. It uses parabolic reflectors to intensify the sun’s heat, reaching a maximum temperature of 550 degrees, so it’s definitely burger-ready.
Via Husqvarna.com
Solar Gadgets For Your Outdoor Chores: A Solar Lawn Mower
Hallelujah—someone has finally invented a Roomba for your lawn. The Husqvarna Automower is a robotic electric lawnmower that gets a boost from a solar panel installed on its face. When it hits an obstacle, it turns around and starts mowing the other way. Plus, it can be controlled digitally from an app on your phone, which gives you more time to lounge in the hammock with a glass of lemonade. It’ll save you some green, too—the average riding mower guzzles about a gallon of gas every time you use it, so if you mow often, that can really add up.
Via BioLite.com
Solar Gadgets For Your Electronics: An Über Cool Solar Panel
Beyond the jaw-dropping design, this ultra slim 5 watt solar panel holds a 2200 mAh battery, large enough you power your cellphone when on the trail or chilling on the beach. The panel's 360 kickstand also makes for easy clipping to backpacks and tents. Though not waterproof, the panel is reinforced on all corners to take a beating the next time your dog jumps on the picnic table.
Via Unfinished Man
Solar Gadgets For the Beach: A Portable Solar Speaker
Your killer volleyball serves look a lot cooler with a kicking soundtrack pulsing in the background—but conventional Bluetooth speakers don’t tend to last all that long. Bolstered by the sun, solar-powered speakers get upwards of 10 hours of charge—that’s a lot of tunes. Patio parties, picnics, and camping trips, this speaker is ready for adventure.
Written by Erin Vaughan at Modernize
This post is part of our larger information resource on sun ovens. For a comprehensive overview of the sun oven, a description of how the technology works, and recommendations for the best one to buy, click here.