It looks futuristic and somehow elegant: the solar living egg. It is self-sustaining with energy from wind and sun. Wanna live in the outback? Wanna travel with lightweight equipment? Then this nice idea is perfect for you. Where ever you want to stay: Take your tiny home with you. You never need a socket any more.
In addition to the rooftop solar module there is a small wind turbine (750 watts), which is foldable as a Swiss army knife. This is very helpful on a trip on the motorway. In case that the sun does not shine a battery pack provides (ten kilowatt hours) backup. Also a manually driven heat pump is installed.
Living on nine square meters
The capsule is very well isolated. An additional diesel generator is not necessairy. “The ecologic foot print is extremely small”, says Thomas Zaceck, architect and partner of Nice Architects.
The solar camping trailer offers a living space of nine square meters. It is 2.5 meters high and mountable to any car provided with tow coupling. Two persons may use it without piling.
Potable water produced
The solar egg can do more: The morning dew and rain water will be caught and used inside. A membrane cleans the water before it will be contained. A shower is also included.
The Ecocapsule team comes from Bratislava in Slovakia. For six years the engineers, designers and architects have been working on that idea. The first 50 capsules are available. The price for one: 79.900 euros. Might be you prefer the Tesla limousine instead. But the prices will fall with growing number of orders. (Niels Hendrik Petersen, HS)
