Interview
FLORIAN PIETRZAK
Dethleffs e.home in pills ethleffs is the first well-known manufacturer in the RV industry to design Weand know we needa to get the down showcase vehicle thatweight truly demonandstrates we're the working We are power lookinginata futureonofit. electric something perhaps a little in smaller with are a motorhome. Developers Dethleffs good aerodynamic profile. All these convinced that electric propulsion willthings play a should greathelp roletoingive thea better future range. of motorhomes. However the additional challenges mean Aboutcamp BtoB: What fridgeas that implementation willabout not bethe as rapid andincooker? the car sector: Nevertheless Dethleffs felt Florian Pietrzak: The to fridge compressor the time was right lookisata using electric type whilstnotthe has a three power justcooker for propulsion, but burner also for ceramic glass top. in the living area too. In the equipment recognition of this it named the project Aboutcamp 'e.home'. BtoB: What else is special about this motorhome? Florian Pietrzak: Thea windows are powermade “By implementing fully-electric from a material canchallenges be made and to go dark train there arethat many possibiat the of aentire switch. Similarly weAlexander have a litiesflick for the vehicle” - says framed area on the doorManaging to the sleeping area Leopold, Dethleffs Director that“The can electric either become mirror a light. mobility awill walk or along with Thefundamental seats and bed mattress contain changes in the use ofheating motorelements onthis when someone homes.that We can haveswitch defined challenge and sitsare or the lies first. on them. Customers us the That means that a tell motorhome with electric drive will also supply all functions with electricity in the living room instead of gas, for example. In the same
D
time there are very new future technologies which will change the comfort, quality of sleeping area the cansafety get very stuffy so, motorby healife and also of the future ting justgenerations” the mattress, they can keep warm home whilst enjoying cooler, fresher air for sleeping. We haveEQUIPMENT made maximum use of digiTECHNICAL and digital control. TheIveco lights,Daily heatalisation • The e.home is based on the ting, fridge andusing othera on-board equipment Electric chassis liquid-cooled threeare all connected a special busofsystem phase AC motor to with a power 80kW.that can be controlled an app on a Nickel tablet. • Power is stored from in FIAMM Sodium We also have the possibility of voice Chloride batteries with a capacity of 3control x 76 so nowV.ask Alexa to recharged dim the lights... AhifatI 400 They can be up to ...you see she has! We think to thatabout remotimes, which equates 1.500can te250.000 and voice km. control is something that will appeal our younger customers and maybe • The vehicle also makes use of high-power also to those older as ones who are not capacitors known 'Supercaps': Theseso mobile. enable faster charging and discharging in comparison to the usual batteries. Aboutcamp Haveon you • 31sq m of BtoB: solar panels thetested exteriorthis of vehicle in a generate climate chamber? the e.home up to 3.000 Watts. Florian Pietrzak: Not yet but it was only finished two weeks ago. That will change in HEATING the coming andofmonths. We will be Heating the weeks living area the e.home called working our partnerswith andDethleffs customers for somewith novel solutions set-to ting themselves the challenge of using as little energy as possible. To help achieve this goal, latent heat accumulator plates made
of PMC (phase change material) are installed in several places. These absorb energy at explore the technology to theand full. temperatures over 26 degrees deliver it to the room when it cools in the evening. In Aboutcamp BtoB: Whatelements developments addition infrared heating are do you in seefloor, in the next year two? installed sidewall and or furniture. Florian These heatPietrzak: objects, notWe the think air, andwe heatwill cansee improvements in quickly, battery removing technology be produced very thebut naturally weheating. are reliant on others for that. need for pre The same applies to 'smart homes' and the 'internet of things'. These are fast evolving CONNECTIVITY that are increasingly imporIntrends line with thebecoming e.home being a 'Smart tant by offering new fordigital comfort much usepossibilities is made of Motorhome' and safety. For our part time we wish to fine tune connectivity. the first Dethleffs has what we have incalled orderCampConnect. to get the most installed a system Thisout of it. Wetowill be paying a lot of attention connects almost all components in the to weight, thermal performance aerodynamotorhome and enables them and to be conmics, by whilst of on course always taking trolled an app a tablet. It works for on board the feedback fromasour customers heating, light and power well as centraland partners. As you can see we are taking this locking. very seriously because we believe this is the future and we want to be in at the very SAFETY beginning.continues We expect Innovation in therapid formprogress of a 'Thirdover the called coming'Mobileye' years for our concept. Eye' thate.home keeps track of situations in front of the vehicle. It identifies potential danger on the road and forewarns the driver by acoustical and optical signals.
Aboutcamp BtoB: What developments do you see in the next year or two? Florian Pietrzak: We think we will see improvements in battery technology but naturally we are reliant on others for that. The same applies to 'smart homes' and the 'internet of things'. These are fast evolving trends that are becoming increasingly important by offering new possibilities for comfort and safety. For our part we wish to fine tune what we have in order to get the most out of it. We will be paying a lot of attention to weight, thermal performance and aerodynamics, whilst of course always taking on board the feedback from our customers and partners. As you can see we are taking this very seriously because we believe this is the future and we want to be in at the very beginning. We expect rapid progress over the coming years for our e.home concept. ping area can get very stuffy so, by heating just the mattress, they can keep warm whilst enjoying cooler, fresher air for sleeping. We have made maximum use of digitalisation and digital control. The lights, heating, fridge and other on-board equipment are all connected to a special bus system that can be controlled from an app on a tablet. We also have the possibility of voice control so if I now ask Alexa to dim the lights... ...you can see she has! We think that remo-
30
te and voice control is something that will appeal our younger customers and maybe also to those older ones who are not so mobile. Aboutcamp BtoB: Have you tested this vehicle in a climate chamber? Florian Pietrzak: Not yet but it was only finished two weeks ago. That will change in the coming weeks and months.We will be working with our partners and customers to explore the technology to the full.