The camping experience typically brings campers closer to nature and wilderness in ways that feed the spirit for a lifetime. Now, indulging in nature can be even less negatively impacting for the habitat of wilderness creatures and flora. The creation and manufacture of solar-power camping equipment is a rapidly growing industry focused on making the use of renewable energy in all camping activities second nature.
What’s Available in Solar-Powered Equipment for Campers?
If you are like most people, you hate cold showers or the time and expense associated with constantly having to replace batteries in radios and flashlights, which often end up in landfills. Here are just a few ingenious ways of harnessing the renewable energy of the sun:
- Campers now have access to Solar Showers which provide a nice warm shower as long as the sun shines and for hours after the sun goes down because water holds heat naturally. At Green-Planet-Solar-Energy you will find an amazingly simply explanation of how using a Solar Camping Shower can make a real difference in your camping experience. Imagine filling a thick ,black, matte plastic bag with enough water for your shower and then letting the sun heat it for you…no electricity and no heavy equipment to haul in and out of camp, and no having to share shower facilities with other campers. The price…inexpensive for the convenient, easy to carry, renewable resource it is.
- Solar Lanterns and Torches are not only romantic, for those who love a warm natural glow in their living quarters, but the need to throw away endless supplies of non-renewable batteries into the landfill is non-existent. One great example of a really useful and hardy solar lantern/torch convertible is the K-Light which sells for under $50 and lasts some 10 years.
- And since hands-free is all the rage these days, how about a hands-free light? Some, such as the 2C solar cap are little gems...it offers 5 hours of bright light per charge from a little solar panel mounted in the visor and 2 LEDs mounted underneath.
- Portable Solar Panels are ideal for those who just need to feel ‘connected’. They are a dependable source of pollution-free electricity and depending upon the size and type you choose, you can run a number of electrical devices from radios to battery chargers efficiently and effectively.
- Solar Backpacks are ideal for those who love to walk and hike: A thin film solar panel is incorporated into the item so that you can charge your mobile devices such as phones, IPods and the like. You can read more about them at Green-Planet-Solar-Energy.
Hi-Tech Solar-Powered Tent Offers the Comforts of Home
The concept of flexible solar panels embedded in the top layer of tents has been in use by the military for quite some time, but a company called Orange are taking the technology even further with their Gladstonbury Tent. The tent fabrics will have solar threads woven into the fabric, which is different from sewing a solar panel into one position on the tent. The top sections of the tent are to be adjustable, so they can be repositioned throughout the day to get maximum sunshine exposure.
The Gladstonbury Tent will have some amazing features that make camping a truly comfortable experience: internet connection, heated floor, a charging pocket for recharging mobile devices, and a GPS. It’s most interesting feature has to be the fact that it will glow in the dark, making it easy to find one’s tent in the darkness…all without costing a cent in electricity or harming the environment.
Disadvantages of Solar-Powered Camping Equipment
Disadvantages there are, but very few in number, and the advantages definitely outweigh any negative aspects of what has been offered so far in these products. One disadvantage is that sunshine must be readily available and there are not yet any light-weight, long-term energy storage solutions for the rainy days.
In the case of the fabulous solar tent being released by Orange, it appears they would not be suited to hikers, as the tents must be open and exposed to the sun so they can charge up. Being packed in a back pack most of the day would prevent the tents from having sufficient exposure to the sun to make their handy features available when needed.
Quality of Solar Equipment is Important
Quality of the equipment can be a big issue. If you are buying such equipment not only to help protect the environment but to save money in the long run, the better the quality, the longer it will last you and the more reliable it will be. There is little point in trying to save money by buying a poorly-made, inexpensive model only to have to throw it into the landfill to buy yet another soon after purchase. As this is a new and rapidly expanding renewable energy concept, there may be many scammers out there looking to capitalize on our desire to live ‘green’ and use ‘renewable’ as quickly as possible. It’s important that you do your homework and compare before you buy!
Articles of Interest:
Living Green With Composting Toilets
Popular Mechanics, July 2000 Issue: Solar Powered Camping Gear
CAM101
Grace Joubarne - Welcome! I'm a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing from a main office located in Ottawa, Ontario Canada and satellite offices ...
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