Solar - powered calculator - Wikipedia Solar - powered calculator The `` Teal Photon '', one of the first solar - powered calculator of the late 1970s ( left ) and a modern solar - powered scientific calculator ( right ) Solar - powered calculators are hand - held electronic calculators powered by solar cells mounted on the device. They were introduced at the end of the 1970s. Amorphous silicon has been used as a photovoltaic solar cell material for devices which require very little power, such as pocket calculators, because their lower performance compared to conventional crystalline silicon solar cells is more than offset by their lower cost and simplified deposition onto a substrate. The first solar powered calculators available in the late 1970s included the Royal Solar 1, the Sharp EL - 8026, and the Teal Photon. Solar calculators use liquid crystal displays as they are power efficient and capable of operating in the low voltage range of 1.5 -- 2 V. Some models also use a light pipe to converge light onto the solar cells. However, solar calculators may not work well in indoor conditions under ambient lighting if sufficient light is not available. Anylite Technology is the name of a solar technology used by Texas Instruments since the 1980s in some calculators. They are intended to be able to function with less light than other solar calculators. This was essentially achieved by using relatively large photovoltaic solar cells. The use of Anylite technology in modern TI calculators is denoted by a lower case `` a '' at the end of the model number ( e.g. TI - 30a ). In older models, such as the TI - 36 Solar, Anylite Solar is printed on the calculator. As of the 2010s, some very cheap calculators include a `` dummy '' solar panel, implying that they are solar - powered, when they are actually powered only by battery. References Renewable energy portal Energy portal Jump up ^ `` Solar on cheap '' ( PDF ). physics.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Electronic Pocket Calculators - The Road to Electronic Pocket Calculators : History of Invention ''. umw.edu. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Recent LCD Calculators ''. mathcs.albion.edu. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Topics in Self - Powered Controllers - Special Emphasis on Push Buttons and Switches for Industrial Applications ''. mathcs.albion.edu. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ `` Choosing A Calculator ''. files.chem.vt.edu. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ `` The Solar Power Battery Chargers ''. solarpowerwindenergy.org. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 30. Jump up ^ https://education.ti.com/en/us/products/calculators/elementary-calculators/ti-108/tabs/overview Jump up ^ http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Modern/TI-36SOLAR.htm Jump up ^ VWestlife ( 2017 - 07 - 04 ). `` Solar Calculators BUSTED ! ''. YouTube. Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 06. Photovoltaics Concepts Technology Photovoltaics Photoelectric effect Solar insolation Solar constant Solar cell efficiency Quantum efficiency Nominal power ( Watt - peak ) Thin - film solar cell Multi-junction solar cell Third - generation photovoltaic cell Solar cell research Thermophotovoltaic Thermodynamic efficiency limit Sun - free photovoltaics Polarizing organic photovoltaics Materials List of semiconductor materials Crystalline silicon ( c - Si ) Polycrystalline silicon ( multi-Si ) Monocrystalline silicon ( mono - Si ) Cadmium telluride Copper indium gallium selenide Amorphous silicon ( a-Si ) History Growth of photovoltaics Timeline of solar cells Photovoltaic system Solar cells Polymer solar cell Nanocrystal solar cell Organic solar cell Quantum dot solar cell Hybrid solar cell Plasmonic solar cell Carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics Dye - sensitized solar cell Cadmium telluride photovoltaics Copper indium gallium selenide solar cells Printed solar panel Perovskite solar cell System components Solar panel Balance of system Solar charge controller Solar inverter Solar micro-inverter Solar cable Photovoltaic mounting system Maximum power point tracker Solar tracker Solar shingles Solar mirror System concepts Perturb and observe method Incremental conductance method Constant voltage method Fill factor Concentrated photovoltaics Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector Space - based solar power Applications Appliances Solar - powered refrigerator Solar air conditioning Solar lamp Solar charger Solar backpack Solar tree Solar - powered pump Solar - powered watch Solar Tuki Photovoltaic keyboard Solar road stud Solar cell phone charger Solar notebook Solar - powered calculator Solar - powered fountain Solar - powered radio Solar - powered flashlight Solar - powered fan Solar street light Solar traffic light Land transport Solar vehicle Solar car Solar roadway Solar golf cart The Quiet Achiever Sunmobile Air transport Electric aircraft Mauro Solar Riser Solar panels on spacecraft Solar - Powered Aircraft Developments Solar One Gossamer Penguin Qinetiq Zephyr Solar Challenger Water transport Solar boat Solar vehicle racing Solar car racing List of solar car teams Solar challenges World Solar Challenge American Solar Challenge Formula Sun Grand Prix Solar Cup Frisian Solar Challenge Solar Splash South African Solar Challenge Tour de Sol Hunt - Winston School Solar Car Challenge Victorian Model Solar Vehicle Challenge Generation systems PV power station Grid - connected photovoltaic power system List of photovoltaic power stations Individual projects Alamosa photovoltaic power plant Beneixama photovoltaic power plant Blythe Photovoltaic Power Plant Copper Mountain Solar Facility Darro Solar Park Erlasee Solar Park Golmud Solar Park Gottelborn Solar Park Guadarranque solar power plant Köthen Solar Park Moura Photovoltaic Power Station Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park Pocking Solar Park Puertollano Photovoltaic Park Topaz Solar Farm Wyandot Solar Facility Building - mounted Rooftop photovoltaic power station Building - integrated photovoltaics Solar Ark Strasskirchen Solar Park By country Australia Belgium Bulgaria Canada Chile China Czech Republic France Germany Greece India Italy Japan Netherlands Romania South Africa Spain Switzerland Thailand United Kingdom USA PV companies By country List of countries by photovoltaics production Individual producers First Solar Hanwha Q CELLS JA Solar Motech Solar REC Sharp Solar Frontier Solyndra Sungen Solar Sunpower Suntech Trina Solar Yingli Solar Commons This electronics - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solar-powered_calculator&oldid=792764483 '' Categories : Texas Instruments calculators Applications of photovoltaics Electronics stubs Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 28 July 2017, at 14 : 40. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the first solar powered calculator invented
Answer: end of the 1970s