World's first solar-powered campervan, world record set by the Stella Vita
Eindhoven, Netherlands--The Stella Vita, designed and built by a team of students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, is a fully electric vehicle powered by the sun, capable of both traveling and sustaining a living space with amenities like a bed, sink, and shower, setting the world record for the World's first solar-powered campervan, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.
Photos: Facebook/Solar Team Eindhoven
"The world's first solar-powered campervan is Stella Vita, designed and built by a team of students from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
"It is a fully electric vehicle powered by the sun, capable of both traveling and sustaining a living space with amenities like a bed, sink, and shower." (AI Overview)
About Stella Vita
- Self-sufficient design: Stella Vita is built to be a self-sustaining "house on wheels," using solar energy to power itself and its internal systems.
- Travel and living: The solar panels on its roof provide enough energy for both driving and living, including cooking, running a fridge, and charging devices.
- Pop-up roof: When parked, the roof slides up to provide standing room, and additional solar panels fold out to double the solar surface area for more efficient charging.
- Aerodynamic shape: While driving, the roof collapses to create a more aerodynamic, teardrop shape that minimizes air resistance.
- Range: On a sunny day, Stella Vita can travel approximately 730 km (about 453 miles) without needing to charge at a station.
- Demonstration trip: The student team completed an 1,800+ mile road trip from the Netherlands to Tarifa, Spain, to demonstrate its capabilities
"Stella and its successors Stella Lux, Stella Vie and Stella Era are a series of solar racing family cars, built for the World Solar Challenge in Australia, sofar winning its Cruiser Class all four times it was held – in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Stella is considered the world’s first solar-powered family car and was given the 'Best Technology Development' Award at the 8th annual Crunchies in San Francisco in 2015.
"Being the only competing vehicle with a license plate, the road registration of Stella contributed to the winning score in the races. The vehicles are designed and built by "Solar Team Eindhoven" (STE) — some 26 students of different faculties of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. The group have set up a non-profit foundation to promote their concepts for practical solar vehicles for adoption on a broader scale." (Wikipedia)
"Stella won the inaugural edition of the new for 2013, Michelin-sponsored Cruiser Class of the WSC, completing the 3,022 kilometres (1,878 mi) race distance in 40 hours and 14 minutes, at an average speed of 75 kilometres per hour (47 mph), while typically carrying three occupants, for a total of 9,093 occupant kilometres (5,651 passenger miles).
"The Stella is a very boxy, but low-built car. With only 1.15 metres (45 in) height, and its two large doors opening upwards, it is as tricky to get in and out of as a super-sportscar. However, once inside, reviewers found it surprisingly comfortable.
"The whole of the top of the car is covered in solar panels, and the rear slopes down to create a teardrop shape to reduce air resistance. The car weighs only 388 kilograms (855 lb) thanks to being constructed largely out of carbon-fiber, reinforced by welded aluminium tubing." (Wikipedia)
Our Self-sustaining House On Wheels
"Stella Vita is our Self-Sustaining House On Wheels. A mobile home wherein you can live and work while travelling on the energy of the sun. Stella Vita generates energy through its solar panels on the roof and uses this energy for both driving and living," the Stella Vita official website says.
"Stella Vita generates enough solar energy to drive, shower, watch TV, charge your laptop and make coffee. You are completely self-sustaining and independent. Hereby, you are free to go wherever you want, without harming the environment."
"It is fully equipped with living essentials including a double bed, sofa, kitchen area and a bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet. It can fit two people, who can drive, cook breakfast and watch television using just the vehicle’s solar-charged battery, according to its creators – 22 students at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands," the CNN reports.
"The vehicle can typically travel up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) on its 60-kWh battery when fully charged, even at night and when it is cloudy.
"On a day when the sun is shining throughout, its range increases by an extra 130 kilometers (81 miles). The team drove approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) between each destination, at a top speed of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour."
"A group of 22 coeds working under the name Solar Team Eindhoven has just unveiled Stella Vita, the world’s first entirely solar-powered camper, according to Ars Technica," the Robb Report says.
"The vehicle features a pop-up roof lined with solar panels that the students claim produce enough electricity to travel over 450 miles in a single day.
"The Stella Vita, which the team calls a self-sustaining “house on wheels,” features a teardrop design that slopes dramatically in the rear. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing of designs, but the long roof provides plenty of surface area for solar panels."
"The vehicle has a pop-up roof lined with solar panels that is said to generate enough electricity to cover 730 kilometers in a day.
Stella Vita is described as a self-sustainable motor home. It features a design with a sloping roof to increase the surface area of the solar panels," the
Telegrafi says.
"Two separate towers below the roofline protrude from either side of the vehicle, effectively doubling the surface area of the solar panels to 17.5 square meters. Inside there is a small cooking area with a solar-powered fridge, as well as a toilet, a sofa and a full-sized bed with space for two adults.
"It was created by a group of 22 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, working under the name Solar Team Eindhoven."
"The world's first fully self-sufficient 'house on wheels' - designed and developed by students from Eindhoven University of Technology - will arrive in Tarifa, the southernmost tip of Spain, on Friday. This means that Solar Team Eindhoven has reached the final destination of its tour from the Netherlands to Spain on energy from the sun. The student team organised the trip to show the future of sustainable mobility with their self-built green campervan," the Eindhoven University of Technology says.
"In one and a half years, Solar Team Eindhoven designed and built Stella Vita, as the futuristic-looking vehicle is called. The solar vehicle has a roof that slides up electrically when standing still, giving you a standing height of 2.5 metres.
"This makes it easy to stand inside to cook, sleep or work. Additional solar panels fold out when the roof is up, doubling the solar surface area to a whopping 17.5 square metres."
Related world records:
