Solar panels fitted on ambulance vehicles

South Central Ambulance Service started trialling solar panels in January 2012, and from September 2012 started fitting them on all new RRVs.
To date, solar panels have been installed on 36 of the service’s RRVs to supply power to the secondary battery system that powers all emergency equipment on these vehicles
The ambulance service is currently in the process of fitting solar panels to a double-crewed ambulance to evaluate their use on these.
It cost £34,560 to fit the vehicles with the panels, however, the service said it hoped it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30.28 tonnes and reduce fuel costs by more than £50,000 over the next five years.
The service’s green team co-ordinator, Brian Miller, said: “South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is taking the initiative to introduce solar panels to its Rapid Response Vehicles to reduce fuel consumption, fuel and battery replacement costs, the trust’s carbon footprint and the need for RRVs to return to base and traditional shoreline systems to recharge vehicle batteries.”
The introduction of the panels means that the vehicles will now be fully mobile as there will no longer be a need to standby with their engines running to recharge battery systems or to return to base to recharge vehicle batteries.