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Digital solution power/charging

When discussing one of our solutions (a pendant/wearable that produces audio, lights, and vibrations when an earthquake is impending), we thought there would be a problem with keeping them charged and ready. 
Since we want the device to be held at all times, that means the device is likely in active mode at all times (which can drain the battery faster, as well as heat it up). 
Better batteries are required for wireless communication (it shouldn't be too bad if it's just a satellite contacting the devices).


One way to keep them charged is with solar power. They can work the same way as some calculators do, with tiny solar panels for a device with a tiny demand for power. Solar calculators have been around since the mid 1980s, they're more than perfected by now.

Certain calculators require more than solar power alone (usually ones that dealt with trigonometry, etc). A battery is usually put in alongside solar panels in a calculator. That said, the battery only needs to be replaced "between 3 to 15 years".

Solar calculators range from 3 British pounds to 9 British pounds (usually depending on the size of the device itself rather than the solar panel). 

To accommodate every citizen in the New Zealand city of Auckland, over 1,600,000 devices would need to be manufactured. 

To give every citizen in Auckland a small solar panel (not counting the device), I estimated it would cost 13,513,600 New Zealand dollars. Going forward we may ignore the maths.

One factor we would need to consider is how much space they take up. Bigger panels provide more recharging power, but take up more space. Smaller panels recharge far less power but take up less space.


If we don't want to bother with solar panels, we could stick with a battery per device that needs to be replaced every few years. 

There are many types of batteries, but the best battery of choice for this is Lithium Thionyl Chloride cells. 
To put them simply, they can last at between ten and forty years, produces less than 3% of wasted energy per year, and they have a good temperature range which makes them work in hot and cold seasons.
They cannot be recharged, which forces replacements.
They come in small sizes which should be convenient for a pendant/wearable. Regardless of their size, their power remains the same.
They're already used for purposes such as pacemakers and surveillance cameras. 



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