Citizen Eco-Drive
Eco-Drive ( . English ecological drive ) is a series of quartz - watches the Japanese manufacturer Citizen . These clocks get their electricity from solar cells , movement or heat and in this way save the need to change batteries .
Types of energy generation
Various types of energy generation have been used over the years, the most common being the combination of solar and battery .
Eco-Drive Solar
In 1995 the first wristwatch with Eco-Drive was released. If one only speaks of "Eco-Drive", the solar cell variant is generally meant. The watches are equipped with a special lithium-ion battery that is continuously charged via a solar cell . The solar cell is printed and serves as a dial . Eco-Drive watches can run between 150 and 240 days on a fully charged battery without being further charged by light. Citizen calls this period dark power reserve . Some models have a dark power reserve of up to 8.7 years, which is made possible by the fact that the hands are stopped if the watch has been in the dark for more than 24 hours while the timekeeping continues internally. As soon as light falls on the dial again, the hands are brought into the correct position and the clock continues to run. According to Citizen, the secondary battery should still have a capacity of 80% after 20 years .
Eco-Drive Duo
In 1998, the first wristwatch with the Eco-Drive variant "Duo" came out, whose energy generation works with a combination of solar energy and movement. This variant is hardly in use today because the solar drive no longer needs movement as an additional energy source due to the ever larger battery capacity and the energy-saving mode. In addition, the watch has a slimmer appearance with pure solar power.
Eco-Drive Thermo
Since 2000 wristwatches with Eco-Drive-Thermo have been sold, which generate the drive energy from the temperature difference between the body of the watch wearer and his environment.
Additional equipment VITRO
In 2002, the VITRO ( Eco-Drive VITRO ) technology came onto the market, in which the solar cells are no longer visible on the dial.
Additional equipment radio clock
- The Eco-Drive wristwatches have also been available as radio -controlled watches since 2002 .
- Petite radio-controlled ladies' watches with Eco-Drive have only been possible since 2007.
- 2009 first radio controlled diver watch with Eco-Drive.