Is Our Van Life Environmentally Friendly?
This study is a preliminary draft (August 2023). It will be refined and updated as we gather new information to maintain the highest level of honesty. Our planet is crucial to us, and while we are not yet perfect, we strive to be. Happy reading.
November 2023 Update: Since this year, we have once again settled down for a good part of the year, allowing us to provide you with a very insightful firsthand experience and even confirm that year-round van life is indeed more environmentally friendly. Returning to a sedentary lifestyle also means returning to abundance, where it becomes less necessary to scrutinize every energy expenditure because when you flip a switch, the lights come on, and the water flows “unlimited.”
Initially, the habits of van life linger. However, as the months pass, it becomes increasingly difficult to be frugal; this reflex fades naturally. Comfort beckons energy expenditure. So yes, we still exercise caution; we wait for the significant flush to use the toilet, for example, and showers are taken with water use minimized. But the computer remains plugged in, on standby, and the electricity consumption, particularly with heating in winter, would almost match what we used in two weeks in the van, all within a single day.
PS: This is our personal experience, not a generalization.
Turn on subtitles as they are available in the languages we’ve translated: French, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish
Introduction
“Look at them, preaching about ecology while polluting with their camper van engine.”
In this article, we delve into a contentious topic, one that divides but affects everyone on this planet: ecology. At a time when heatwaves are rampant, water scarcity is increasingly alarming, and the reports from the IPCC are dire, campers and those who use internal combustion engines daily are often seen as pariahs, sometimes rightfully so.
Indeed, this is a comment frequently encountered under our YouTube videos and during live streams, especially when the topic touches on ecology. Contrary to popular belief, however, we have significantly reduced our carbon footprint by choosing this lifestyle—living in a camper van 365 days a year (or for the majority of the year).
And you will see that the difference between our life in a 40m² apartment on the French Riviera and our new life in a camper van is very significant.
In this article, we do not point fingers at anyone; we simply compare various aspects of our current lifestyle in a camper van with the French national average lifestyle.
So, let’s set the context straight from the beginning: we are not talking about a lifestyle where we spend two months on a road trip, returning to a home where we live for most of the year. Instead, we’re discussing a year-round life in a camper van (except when it’s undergoing maintenance).
Engine (and therefore vehicle) pollution
Addressing the Critique: Pollution from the Engine and the Camper Van Itself
Undoubtedly, a diesel engine in operation pollutes more than an electric motor. We assume this is not news to you. However, there are several factors to consider.
Vehicle Construction
I couldn’t find specific data regarding camper van engines (since electric camper van engines do not exist), so we’ll rely on data for car engines.
Do you know how many kilometers an electric vehicle must travel to be less polluting than a conventional vehicle? Between 26,000 and 85,000 kilometers (approximately 16,155 to 52,816 miles). Yes, we often overlook the environmental impact of vehicle manufacturing itself. Therefore, it would take 150,000 kilometers (approximately 93,206 miles) for an electric vehicle to have potential impacts 29% to 65% lower than those of a conventional vehicle. After 300,000 kilometers (approximately 186,411 miles), the impacts of the electric vehicle are 55% to 80% lower than those of the conventional vehicle.
Regarding the replacement of one conventional vehicle with another supposedly less polluting one, here’s what you need to know. Let’s assume that a new family car emits, as is likely, about 40 grams less CO2 per kilometer than its predecessor. The new car would need to travel around 300,000 kilometers (approximately 186,411 miles) to offset the additional CO2 emissions required for its replacement. In essence, changing cars would benefit the manufacturer but not the planet.
In summary, we often overlook the construction and decommissioning of a vehicle. Our camper van is 22 years old, its construction costs were recouped long ago, it has 200,000 kilometers on it, and if all goes well, it can still go twice that distance. Few cars reach such longevity, don’t you think?
Annual Kilometers
What is the average number of kilometers per household in France per year? It’s around 14,000 kilometers (approximately 8,699 miles) in urban areas and 20,000 kilometers (approximately 12,427 miles) in rural areas.
How many kilometers did we travel in our camper van in one year? 20,000 kilometers (approximately 12,427 miles). So, in one year, we traveled as much as an average rural French resident and one-third more than an urban resident.
Therefore, when considering the context, our camper van does not travel much more than the national average. I acknowledge that we are annually two occupants in the vehicle, unlike a household vehicle, but this distinction is negligible yet worth mentioning.
From a motorization perspective, the camper van is indeed more polluting. Well, yes. However, the kilometers traveled themselves result in significant heating savings, which you’ll understand in the next section.
Heating and Air Conditioning
It’s one of the most significant expense categories for a household, one of the most energy-intensive, and consequently one of the most polluting. When we lived in our 40 square meter (430.56 square feet) north-facing apartment on the French Riviera, heating was already a significant expense in winter (even though it’s a small area and in a warm region). In winter, we had to use heating extensively, and in summer, the air conditioning ran at full capacity. On average, our bills were €100/month (approximately $111/month or £82/month), during the lockdown they rose to €130/month (approximately $144/month or £107/month).
Two factors have led to a tenfold reduction in our heating consumption:
- We now heat a 10 square meter (107.64 square feet) area: It heats up very quickly. Imagine living with two people in a 10 square meter room; the heat from your bodies already warms up the room. So yes, the energy-conscious might argue that the insulation in a camper van is not as effective as in a house. They are right, indeed, but our house rolls, so here comes the second point.
- Winter in the sun and summer in the shade: This is where we tie back to the kilometers traveled in the first paragraph. While the French travel between 8,699 miles and 12,427 miles per year for commuting or daily activities, we use them like migratory birds to reach warm regions in winter and cool regions in summer. Thus, we maintain a temperature between 20 and 30°C (68-86°F) throughout the year in the camper van. Yes, winters in southern Spain are not as harsh as in France, and this year we avoided French heatwaves by traveling to Scotland.
Thanks to these two tricks, we rarely need heating. Proof: Our heating bill has also been reduced by a factor of ten.
Does our engine still pollute as much?
Water
Surely, the aspect that shocked us the most during our studies and research. In a camper van, you are limited in your water consumption. Our water tank holds 120 liters for toilets, dishes, and showers, including 15 liters heated by the gas water heater (also for heating). But we also have a 15-liter jerrycan for drinking water. With this reserve, we last an average of 3 days. Of course, we could use more water, but that would require us to find camper van emptying and refilling stations more often, and that’s a hassle (because, yes, you can imagine that people in converted vehicles don’t dump their polluted water into nature; there are designated places for that).
So, we use a total of 135 liters of water in 3 days for 2 people.
What is the average DAILY consumption of a French person? 149 liters (source)
What is the average DAILY consumption of an American? 450 liters
What is the average DAILY consumption of a UK resident? 132 liters
So, the two of us consume as much in 4 days as the average French person does in 1 day, as much as an American does in about 8 hours, and as much as a UK resident does in about 1 day too.
Adjusted to 1 individual, that’s 16.87 liters per day per person, which we’ll round up to 20 liters because we like to round in our disfavor. Here’s what it means, also rounded (we say this for the math whizzes):
- The average French person consumes as much in 1 day as an individual with our lifestyle consumes in 1 week.
- The average French person consumes as much in 2 months as an individual with our lifestyle consumes in 1 year.
- The average French person consumes as much in 1 year as an individual with our lifestyle consumes in 6 years.
So, in one year of road trips, we have saved 5 years’ worth of drinking water compared to our previous lifestyle. In the current times, perhaps this is something that should be more encouraged and praised, but we’re just saying.
And is our engine still a problem?
Electricity
Just like heating, electricity is a significant energy expense and therefore highly polluting. On our end, we’ve opted for solar panels and a battery. So, we are 99% self-sufficient in electricity. When we purchased our battery, it used rare and indeed polluting materials. We’re talking about our equipment that we use here, and the EcoFlow Delta Mini battery that we have for peace of mind. The goal is to eventually recycle all this grey energy in our future installations.
What is our average daily electricity consumption? Over the last 30 days from July 23rd to August 22nd, 2022, our average has been 830Wh (see visual opposite).
What is the average daily electricity consumption of a French person? We excluded heating, hot water, and cooking to only keep lighting, electronics, basically everything we use in the camper van for fairness. The French average is 8700Wh/day (source).
In terms of individuals, this time it takes about 10 years for an individual living our lifestyle to consume as much as the average French person does in 1 year.
Is our engine still polluting as much?
Animal Products
Unfortunately, even though we also enjoy a good red meat and other animal proteins, more and more studies show that they are both harmful to the environment and to our health. Especially red meat. Meat products account for 15% of environmental pollution related to human activities (source). Regarding water, it’s the same; animal products are very water-intensive.
So, once again, we are not vegetarians, but living in a camper van makes us realize that animal products and this kind of fridge don’t go well together. A camper van fridge is not always on, so we avoid buying animal products. Our meat consumption has thus drastically decreased, and our CO2 impact related to this sector has also decreased.
We hardly buy them anymore; we eat them at restaurants and when they are produced responsibly.
Product Purchases
Yet another aspect that the Critics overlook when they talk about the pollution of our lifestyle is that, due to the size of the vehicle and its 3 cupboards (not to mention the need to stay under 3.5 tonnes), buying products simply isn’t possible. Yes, it’s silly, but if you don’t have space, you don’t store, so you don’t buy new clothes, you forget about impulse purchases since you only have 10 square meters of available space. In essence, you buy what’s useful and vital. And as a result, your carbon footprint is naturally reduced.
QED. Anyway, when you travel, you feed your brain so much with experiences that you don’t really need to feed it with material goods (because that’s how the brain kind of works).
Conclusion
You see, we may pollute more than our previous life with the engine of our camper van, but we have nevertheless halved, if not tripled, our carbon footprint with this lifestyle. Of course, we’re not perfect, and there’s still room for improvement. But when tackling a way of life, it’s important to consider it as a whole and not just judge based on vehicle emissions.
We haven’t even mentioned the limited amount of data available to us on our journey, whereas most households have unlimited access. In fact, we watch our entertainment in 240p or even 144p on YouTube instead of HD, which consumes 10 times more data, or even less in 4K, which consumes 20 times more data. To put it another way, an average user consumes as much data in 1 hour of video as we do in 15 hours (on average).
We also haven’t talked about the fact that, yes, we have videos hosted on servers (we could offer 4K videos, but we prefer to offer them in HD so that users consume less), we stream (but we’ve configured our software to stream at low resolution), and 80% of our cultural content is precisely intended to raise awareness about our surroundings. The internet is a tool, and it’s up to you to use it wisely.
A knife won’t be used in the same way by a psychopath and a chef. That’s what we’re trying to do. But yes, we can always strive to improve.
