Solar Power?

Bill_Ace_350

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Apr 26, 2011
Messages
1,326
Location
Upstate New York
Have a small 6x8 shed that I hunt from.

I want to add a small solar panel/battery setup.

Just enough to charge a cellphone, maybe run a small personal fan in the summer, and maybe a light.

Any recommended kits, tips, tricks, recommendations etc.?

Thanks in advance.
 
I have seen a solar battery charger for a car battery, 12 volt LED Lights are readily available, as are cell chargers, fans etc. Check out your local Auto Parts store or find all the parts on-line
Sometimes you can find a good used battery for a fraction of the new price.

Good Luck
 
Check out Harbor Freight. They got some solar kits in the stores and website. Oh and get and use their 20% off coupon if you choose them
 
I was just researching solar powered basement ventilation with 12 volt fans ,.....I was surprised at what is available now that was very expensive or didn't exist at all just 10 or 15 years ago. Solar technology has come a long way. There are relatively small , and affordable solar panels that will do everything you mention.....as long as the sun is shining :lol:
 
They make little solar panels to put on your boat to trickle charge your battery , solar powered attic fans , I'm sure a little Internet search , or YouTube search will help you find exactly what your looking for. I've done a little research for a solar project I'm working on, but don't have enough knowledge on it yet to give any advice . Good luck.
 
Since we are talking solar power , I also found something else really neat. Solar furnaces , made basically from a wooden box with pop cans or downspouts arranged inside and painted black with glass or plastic over it that heat up in the sunlight. You can put these just outside and collect a lot of heat even in winter. A fan blows air from in the house through the thing and back into the house. If you add a solar panel and use that to power the fan then all the heat is completely free....well after the initial expense of building the contraption. I am gonna try building some of these. Even in the dead of winter in a northern climate the temperature inside of them gets over 100 degrees , that has potential to cut heating bills a lot.
 
Google search, should find plenty of information. There are solar charging phone chargers/battery packs, with good capacity, which can power anything using a USB port. Not sure how weatherproof, but possible cheap/simple solution, considering the small space, only used for a short time (hunting season). There are USB lights and desk fans.

A permanent installation, best to start of with your needs and usage, how much power, and how long (couple hours/all day or night), watt-hours. Then you choose a battery size, that will cover your needs. Charging is usually 10% of the capacity current, but you have to take into consideration how much direct sunlight/cloud cover you have at the location. You'll also want a charge controller, to protect your battery (expensive), and maximize the output of your panels. You want one that shuts off the output to your devices, before the battery is completely depleted. Batteries are expensive, 7Ah sealed lead-acid is about $25, powers my back porch led lights for 3-4 hours. The lights were off a truck my brother scrapped once, pretty bright. Battery isn't strong enough to run even a 70 watt inverter. Have single 15 watt panel charging it, on my second battery, over 12 years now. We had a bad hurricane season in 2004, wanted to install enough solar to run a coffee maker, but never got around to it. Need a pretty large battery.
 
Since we are talking solar power , I also found something else really neat. Solar furnaces , made basically from a wooden box with pop cans or downspouts arranged inside and painted black with glass or plastic over it that heat up in the sunlight. You can put these just outside and collect a lot of heat even in winter. A fan blows air from in the house through the thing and back into the house. If you add a solar panel and use that to power the fan then all the heat is completely free....well after the initial expense of building the contraption. I am gonna try building some of these. Even in the dead of winter in a northern climate the temperature inside of them gets over 100 degrees , that has potential to cut heating bills a lot.

I've looked at those also . I'm wanting to try one out to . The ones I looked at didn't need a fan , but it may help , but worked off of a natural draft . I'm going try one this winter , let me know how yours works out for you.
 
Thanks for the responses. Tons of stuff on the internet. Guess I should have asked if anyone had any recommend brands, installation tips etc. Appreciate the replies, will post some pics when I get it done.
 
There are a bunch of groups on Facebook that deal with solar and you tube has a lot, the off grid guys have it down to a science and even there is a group on FB that use them on their Rvs for boondocking
 
I'm doing a 3kw system on my next house, costs are much cheaper here than in the US, around $4000 installed and they will come and take them down if there is a big storm brewing just in case. It's a grid tied system, dual meters, no batteries. Can't wait to be able to run some AC in the living room...
 
No batteries ? so if you have no electric at night you have nothing ? as in it only works during the day ?
I believe 'grid tied' systems are normally tied to the power companies electrical grid; pulling electric when needed, and sending excess, unused solar-generated power back into the grid. No batteries used. Only time to be concerned would be during power outages?
 
No batteries ? so if you have no electric at night you have nothing ? as in it only works during the day ?

No grid-tied systems sell the energy produced to your local electric company, which pays considerably less than what they charge. You stay hooked up to the grid. Power goes out, you flip a switch, and can run off your panels, during the daytime...

Basically, it reduces your power bill, probably need some monster panels to exceed your needs, and get a check.
 
No batteries ? so if you have no electric at night you have nothing ? as in it only works during the day ?


Depends on what your needs are , if you wont need anything at night or simply don't want the expense of a system like that then some devices can be run straight from the solar when needed as long as the voltage , etc . are right for the purpose.
 
Going with a Coleman 18w kit, deep cycle battery, and 300w inverter. Start purchases next month.

Inverters eat a lot of power, you should consider looking at 12 volt powered appliances instead, better economy. Plenty of 12 volt stuff, like the fans and lights (automotive, RV, boat). Car chargers for cell phones are cheap or free (probably got close to a dozen).
 
Here it is a different system with the power company, two meter system, you produced x number of kwh's per month and you used y number of kwh's per month. They do not pay you the over production, but you can build up a credit say in the winter when you run your ac less and use that credit up in the summer.
I would not consider myself a big tree hugging kind of guy, just want to run more AC and ensure that my bill will always be the bare minimum is all. Power rates are going up here every year it seems so it seems like a solid option.
 
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