Solar camping tents seem like a product of the future, offering you the ability to bring efficient, yet environmentally-friendly energy into nature without harming the surroundings. Solar tent technology has become a popular method of generating electricity for military and commercial purposes when working in remote locations. You probably can expect to see solar camping tents appearing more frequently in campgrounds across America.
Technology
Solar camping tents rely on photovoltaic technology to turn sunlight into solar-powered energy. With the recent invention of photovoltaic fibers that allow solar-powered threads to be woven into fabrics, companies are starting to create textiles that can generate solar electricity. Factors such as price, size and weight currently restrict the marketable production of solar tent structures to the general public, but a few companies have begun to design solar camping tents for recreational use.
Purpose
Solar camping tents provide extra luxuries not often associated with camping in a tent, such as a method for keeping electronics charged without having to replace batteries or find an outlet to plug in chargers. Even in the woods, electronics are necessary to maintain contact with the outside world in case of an emergency. The ability to operate solar-powered lights within the tent enhances visibility at night and provides added convenience.
Woods Solar Tent
The Woods Solar Powered EZ Tent is a solar camping tent currently available to consumers. This tent incorporates photovoltaic technology to power its attached LED lights and recharge battery-powered electronics. For every four to six hours of direct sunlight, the tent will provide two to four hours of energy.
Orange Solar Tent
Combining the ingenuity of two companies, Orange of the United Kingdom and Kaleidoscope of the United States, a new high-tech solar camping tent concept has been designed. Using similar photovoltaic fabric technology, this tent is intended to offer a touch-screen control center that can be used to activate its many futuristic features. Campers with cell phones will be able to contact this control center if lost to initiate the tent’s “Glo-cation” feature, which will light up the tent to make it more visible in low-light conditions. Campers can use the control center’s pocket to wirelessly charge electronics by means of a special magnetic field, and when the temperature drops to a certain degree, the groundsheet of the tent will heat up to warm the interior.
Potential
Solar camping tents are still relatively new to the retail market and the Woods solar tent is one of the few currently offered. As manufacturers improve their ability to incorporate photovoltaic technology into durable, weather-resistant fabrics, the production of such products will most likely increase.
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