Cold in your camper? European tech promises the solution

Winter camping has a romantic image: snow-covered forests, cozy evenings, steaming cups of tea. The reality is more challenging. How do you keep your camper warm without using up all your gas bottles in two days? How do you keep your battery charged when the sun is low and solar panels are barely producing any power? European innovations such as heat batteries in walls and flexible solar films promise to make winter camping more comfortable in the future.

For now, these innovations are still in the experimental phase. They are not yet being used in campers and caravans. But if they break through, winter camping could change fundamentally.

A heat battery in your wall

Insulation is traditionally static. It keeps the cold out and the heat in. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Society are changing this concept. They are working with PCM walls. PCM stands for Phase Change Material. This sounds complex, but the principle is simple. The material changes its physical state to manage energy. Think of ice melting into water. When the temperature in the camper rises, the wall absorbs heat. The material in the wall melts in the process. This process stores thermal energy. Does the temperature drop in the evening? Then the material solidifies again. This releases the stored heat. The wall thus functions as a thermal battery. For campers, this innovation may mean lower heating costs in the future.

It is already being tested in homes and office buildings. Not yet for mobile applications such as campers.

Utilizing every surface of the motorhome

A motorhome has a large surface area. Yet we usually only use the roof for energy generation. Traditional solar panels are rigid, heavy, and fragile. They do not fit on curved surfaces. Companies such as Heliatek and Exeger solve this problem with a ‘solar skin’. These are not panels, but films or coatings. This technology makes every surface productive. The sides of the motorhome or even the awning can generate energy.

Heliatek specializes in organic photovoltaic films. These are ultra-thin and lightweight. They also work better in diffuse light than traditional panels. This is essential in winter. In the winter, the sun is low, and it is often cloudy. A traditional panel is of little use then. Exeger goes one step further with their Powerfoyle material. This can be produced in almost any shape and texture. It does not look like a solar cell. It integrates completely into the design. This does not affect the aesthetics of the vehicle.

The technology could theoretically be used on motorhomes because of its low weight and flexibility, but this is not yet happening on a structural basis in practice.

European autonomy

The innovations discussed come from Europe. Fraunhofer is German. Heliatek is German. Exeger is Swedish. This demonstrates the strength of the European R&D landscape. It shows that we are capable of developing high-quality technology that has a direct impact on consumers. It strengthens our position in the global market for sustainable mobility.