Can Solar-Powered Campervans Make Travel More Sustainable?

Campervans – electric or fuel – can utilise solar energy to make travelling more environmentally friendly.

YouTube is anything but short of ‘Van Life’ videos with people sharing their experiences of using camper vans to explore different destinations. From how-to-guides to transformation videos, the hype and need for content on all things camper van is undeniable.

Although there is no definitive reason for people choosing this mode of transport, a noticeable buzzword around campervans is sustainability. People want to be able to travel and be more sustainable simultaneously, a near-impossible task when transportation is one of the biggest causes of air pollution. Although not 100% sustainable, campervans can be a greener option if particular designs and vehicle choices are made – and we’re here to explain how.

Can Solar Panels Power Campervans?

Just like with solar panels on your home, solar panels on a vehicle can charge the vehicle by capturing sunlight and turning it into electricity. These solar panels may be quite a bit smaller, however the way in which they work is exactly the same!

Types Of Solar Panels For Your Campervan

Like with most things in life, there’s more than one option to choose from when it comes to adding solar panels to your campervan.

Rigid Solar Panels

These sit on the roof of your campervan and are the most durable of the type of solar panels. As the name suggests, once they’re placed they can’t be moved.

Semi-Flexible Solar Panels

These are much lighter than the rigid solar panels, and are great for vehicles that don’t have a flat roof.

Portable Solar Panels

These don’t need to be on the roof of your vehicle, so once you’re parked up you can put these in the sunniest available spot!

So, How Exactly Can Solar Panels Power Your Campervan?

Essentially, there are three main steps when it comes to generating electricity using solar panels. These are:

1. When sunlight hits the solar panels, energy from the sunlight gets absorbed by the photovoltaic cells within the solar panels.
2. This then energises the cell, which in turn causes an electrical current.
3. Even though a current is created at this point, it’s actually the wrong type of current that is used in the UK. Therefore the direct current created needs to be converted into an alternating current. This is done using an invertor.

And that’s it! The alternating current then goes into powering your campervan.

Does This Work With Other Vehicles?

A small selection of electric vans that can be converted into campervans are available to purchase, such as the Vauxhall Vivaro-e, Citroen e-Dispatch, and Ford e-Transit. Solar panels can even be added to the roofs of non-electric vans to power appliances and devices on board.

Although the choices of electric vans available for purchase are limited at the moment, this will undoubtedly change in the future, particularly as no new petrol or diesel vans will be sold in the UK or EU after 2030.

More and more people are looking to solar energy as a sustainable, cost-effective, and future-proof option.