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Solar Powered Tent – A bright idea. |
24 Comments |
| By Chris Welch in Green Living, Solar, Tech Innovations | June 28, 2006 | ||
While catching a few minutes of t.v. tonight I saw a commercial for the Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent™. This tent sets up quickly, and has intregrated L.E.D. lighting system that is charged by a solar panel on the top of the tent. The led lighting on the interior also has a removable L.E.D. flashlight for those late night trips to the outhouse. “…will take approx 4-6 hours of direct light to yield 2-4 hours tent light; 8-10 hours of indirect light to yield 2-4 hours tent light” and you can also use the solar panel to charge additional batteries.
Looks really cool, check it out at Canadian Tire here.
Steve Balogh said,
I love it. It’s one of those, “why didn’t I think of that” ideas. Great (practical) stuff.
Rebecca Carter said,
I agree that it’s a great idea. How does the price ($180 Canadian) compare to similar tents? I tried to search around, but it seems I know nothing about the subject!! Steve’s right…why didn’t someone think of this sooner??
C S Martin said,
The price is very comparable to other tents! I have hobbled over to my local Canadian Tire in search of a new tent, and this one is one of the front runners for me. I am also considering a four-season though, which, unfortunately, this doesn’t come in!
For some strange reason, the majority of the population doesn’t like to go camping when there is snow on the ground, so that leaves three months for the insane ones like myself to rule the back country.
Canadian Tire has had the exclusive rights to sell some of the most intuitive products I have ever bought. For anyone looking for something pure genius to buy, including tools, solar car battery chargers, etc., shop Canadian Tire!!!
Blue Sky Mining » Stumbling Around the Green Web with StumbleUpon #6 said,
[...] • Solar Powered Tent – A bright idea. While catching a few minutes of t.v. tonight I saw a commercial for the Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent™. This tent sets up quickly, and has intregrated L.E.D. lighting system that is charged by a solar panel on the top of the tent. The led lighting on the interior also has a removable L.E.D. flashlight for those late night trips to the outhouse. “…will take approx 4-6 hours of direct light to yield 2-4 hours tent light; 8-10 hours of indirect light to yield 2-4 hours tent light” and you can also use the solar panel to charge additional batteries. [...]
Martin said,
I see a critical design flaw. Tents are for sleeping in. Sleeping is done at night. On long hiking trips tents see little daylight, so I can see use of these things will be limited to festivals and other camping trips where you stay put for a few days. Probably not much use in winter either.
25 Hot Rugged Gadgets to Help You Weather The Outdoors » The Hottest Gadgets said,
[...] The Solar TentGoing camping this year? Why not bring along this solar powered tent with you? 7-inch solar panels along the top gather energy during the day, so at night it can power a series of built-in LED’s or charge your gadgets. The tent comes in 4 and 6 person models, which are $200 and $250 respectively. [...]
Camping Mad Chris said,
Fantastic idea. You can get rechargeable lantern torches here in the UK for around £30, one charge lasts around 5-6 days. But using the tent as a large solar panel is neat.
Bob said,
Great idea, Are these tents available on amazon? What’s the price?
DennisC said,
Wow – excellent idea as long as you get enough sun. Eureka Tents makes a “non-green” but perhaps more reliable alternative. It is their “N!ergy” line of tents. They are pre-wired with 12volt outlets. You can get 12 volt lights and fans, all powered by a small rechargeable power pack which can be recharged from your car’s 12 volt outlet (great for longterm camping) or from a home power outlet.
Rowland said,
Terrible idea.
Fact: lightweight, inexpensive solar panels for charging everything from flashlights to cell phones are available.
Fact: tents are available.
Why would you wan to combine the two? All your doing is limiting your charging hours to the time that your tent is set up (and if your like most of us, that tends to be at NIGHT). Just buy a solar panel and a tent. Problem solved in a far, far superior way.
This is completely unuseless (when something would would be incredibly useful if it weren’t for the fact that it is completely pointless).
Kevin said,
I wonder how this product has evolved over the last 3 years. I’ve searched for info on solar powered tents but most i get posts about this product or ones similar to it.
Guy Chapman said,
Who is the manufactuer I would love to carry them and promote them
Ashley said,
Hi everyone. I purchased the 6 man last year for taking down the river canoeing. It is awesome. During the day I run my mp3 player off of the solar panel and at dusk when we set up camp I put the solar panel on top of the tent and walla lights all night. Great for when you have to get up in the middle of the night. I love mine.
Chantelle Matthys said,
I was wondering if i could get the instructions on how to set this tent up, I lost the instructions 2 years ago and now I can’t set it up. Thank You
Kevin Xu said,
Good Idea of modern tent and thanks to solar powered technology which allowed us more friendly to our environment.
coleman tent said,
Solar panel is unable to convert to electricity would otherwise overheat the unit and reduce the efficiency of the solar cells. Despite these protective measures against the tendancy of solar panels to overheat, it is vital that when installing a solar panel, additional steps should be taken to ensure the solar panel is kept cool. Position your solar panel in direct sunlight. Solar panels perform at optimum capacity when placed in direct sunlight. Try to position your photovoltaic array directly under the noontime sun for maximum efficiency from your photovoltaic unit.
Salomon pen said,
where can I buy this tent? I cannot for the life of me fine it for sale anywhere please help me find one. thank you kindly Sal. my email is salpena510@gmail.com
jenn said,
I actually own this tent & its fantastic
my BF & I bought it about 3 years ago for a trip to Cape Scott. It is indeed easy to set up & take down, slept the 2 of us & 2 dogs quite spaciously & the flashlight was a lifesaver for midnite trips to the outhouse. We also used the chargable batteries from the solar panel to give life to my ipod speakers. It was a great trip & the best camping purchase I have ever made.
SOLAR TENT Manual Instructions >> SOLAR POWERED TENT Tips | SOLAR TENTS Guides | Solar Lighting Guide said,
[...] This tent comes with solar panels and integrated, interior LED lights. You can also use solar panels to charge the battery independently. That’s about 4-6 hours of direct light to yield 2-4 hours tent light. The 7″ (18 cm) solar panel placed on the hub of tents and clicked into place. Fly is then placed on a solar panel & tent, and sun will charge the panel through the clear PVC window at the top of the fly. Unfortunately, like most tents, this one is made from petroleum-based materials (nylon and PVC). Certainly there is a substitute that can be used out there! Tent comes as a four-person and six-person version, and the price is $ 180 (CAD) and $ 220 (CAD) each. For more information, visit Canadian Tire site. [Via] [...]
Richard Yeh said,
Hi,
Take a look on the website that we carry. http://www.earth-solar.net/products.asp?tmpClass1=35
I cannot see the solar tent in Canadian Tire anymore. Solar panel is a must for people who stay outside without electricity. The power can be used for lighting, charging mobile electronics, etc. Personally I carry the solar backpack with me every day.
Theo @ DIYHomeSolarPanels.org said,
This looks pretty cool, there seems to be more and more solar powered gadgets coming out these days which i think is great.
Brian of Homemade Solar Panel said,
Wow, this was 4-years ago and mostly that time you can only power a light. But with latest innovation, you can even power an LCD TV with satellite plus it can charge laptop. A good gear when you’re out in the wilderness and no electricity has reached.
lighting said,
it’s sure the EZ-Tent is very cool ,it is right that the LEDs saving much energy that you can do more other things which need more evergy .
what is my question is ,how much dose the EZ-Tent weight ?dose it cost much ?
(i think i am ready to do sth)
Brandon from How to Make a Solar Panel said,
That is a pretty interesting idea for a tent. I’ve never seen these before. However, I wonder what they are capable of now with all the improved technology.