Sugar Grove Boy Scouts use solar panel technology for camping trips

SUGAR GROVE – The lack of nearby electricity sources and lighting can make it difficult to go camping.

But that’s not a problem for Sugar Grove Boy Scout Troop 41.

The troop has installed solar panel technology to the roof of the trailer they had already been using, while adjusting the interior lighting and making it a great source to recharge electronic items, especially smartphones and portable lanterns for when they’re out in the wilderness.

“With the new lights and the solar panels we’ve been able to turn it to daylight in the middle of the night,” said Jim Fox, scoutmaster of Troop 41 “If you show up at camp later or need to cook later in the night, this really gives you all the light you need, which is pretty amazing.”

The solar panels were installed meticulously to not interfere with the aerodynamics of traveling.

The troop is fortunate is have professional engineer Kai Liu as one of its volunteers. Tackling a project of such proportions was something that intrigued him, and he also was able to get the young scouts involved.

“I had gone on a few campouts and realized it was sure dark out there,” Liu said. “As an engineer I’ve always had an interest in doing these kinds of things, especially with renewable resources.”

The solar panels are able to collect energy, which is then stored in the battery for later usage in the evening. The battery is recharged the next day by the solar panels, and the cycle continues.

“The nice thing is that solar panels have become far less expensive, which is really what made it happen,” Liu said. “The panels and everything were only about $200, but we still had to put a lot of work into putting it all together.”

Such an installation to their trailer has not gone unnoticed in the Cub Scout community, especially since no one has seemingly created anything like this.

“We haven’t come across any other troops that have done something like this,” Fox said. “But everyone who has seen it has been impressed.”

A fundraiser at Luigi's Pizza in Aurora helped the scouts raise money to purchase the solar panels and other equipment, as well as cover any additional costs that the project required.

Their efforts will also go toward their earning of electronics merit badges.

“Our trailer wasn’t made for these lights so there were a lot of challenges to make everything work,” Fox said. “There were the lights and then there was installing the solar panels and installing all of it in a way that it wouldn’t affect us when driving on the road with wind rushing in and resistance. A lot of hard work went into to getting us to where we’re at now.”

The scouts, who took their trailer on a campout to Starved Rock State Park from Sept. 9 to 11, are excited with what they’ve done.

“I think it’s pretty great how this came about,” Ben said. “I was here before it was installed and you had to start the truck to get the lights to work, and that wasn’t as good for the environment as the solar panel.”

“I think the whole project has helped us build character,” Ian said. “I’ve been a scout for a long time and done a lot of things, and it’s helped make me who I am. Without scouts, I would be a lot different. They’ve helped me be able to do a lot of interesting things.”

Note to readers: Boy Scout Troop 41's policy is to identify the scouts by their first name only.