Battery Power for Garage

[khampson]

Hi, I am looking to power a garage using a car battery, now what I thought I would do if it is possible is, get a decent car battery and connect to my 150w car inverter, then plug in a low energy 100w bulb which is around 20w, also I was planning to buy a solar panel to put on the roof of the garage and also connect this to the car battery to charge it up. will this work? and how long will the battery last if I do this using a standard car battery, I have no chance to coonect my garage to the mains, I see this as my best option, do you agree?

Regards Keith

 

[breezer]

been done before, try a search

 

[bernardgreen]

Converting (inverting) 12volts to 240 volts is not efficient.

Invest in some 12 volt caravan type flourescent fittings which have built-in mini invetors designed to be highly efficient at driving the tube from 12 volt supplies.

Best range is from LabCraft Ltd who pioneered the 12 volt flourescent lighting market in the 1960's www.labcraft.co.uk May be a bit more expensive than much of the imported stuff but you pay for good quality.

 

[RF Lighting]

I have some 12V fluorescents to light the back of my van, and they go throught tubes like they are going out of fashion, and they also emit a very high pitched whistle when they are on.

@OP, you may find that a low energy lamp will not operate on inverted power. The invertor creates AC power with a very rough sine wave. Power from the mains has a smooth sine wave. My hand lamp will not work from the invertor in my van. (Its a 38W 2D hand lamp with electronic control gear)

 

[TicklyT]

You may be better off using a light fitting designed for caravans or boats etc. or an LED replacement automotive lamp which will run from a 12V battery without the inverter. Depending on the efficiency of the inverter, it may dissipate more power than the lamp it is powering

With our nice, predictable sunny weather solar panels may start getting expensive if they are to provide any meaningful output.

After the last week I would consider a hydroelectric turbine in the gutter downpipe

 

[khampson]

so I can not use a standard 240v light using a 12v inverter? mmm I have seen cheap solar panels on ebay, I thought it would be quite simple but now I am not sure, I did power a household radio with the inverter and it worked no probem so why a lamp differnt? I would only be powering the garage for putting car in and out only when its dark, I will not use it for a long period of time.

 

[big-all]

so I can not use a standard 240v light using a 12v inverter? mmm I have seen cheap solar panels on ebay, I thought it would be quite simple but now I am not sure, I did power a household radio with the inverter and it worked no probem so why a lamp differnt? I would only be powering the garage for putting car in and out only when its dark, I will not use it for a long period of time.

it does work ask my dad

30 ah car battery live terminal via fuse to both the micro switch [£3 toolstation]on the up and over door and also via an off on bypass switch so the light come on when the doors open and off when they shut or switched on with "bypass switch"

then via the the silverline 150w inverter [low £20s] to 3 individualy switched low energy 20w bulbs

the battery also acts as backup for the powered door whilst its battery is on charge

system is 6 months old and working fine the battery seems to last for around 12 weeks with an average 10 door movement a week and powering the door around 30% of the time

all these figures are very approximate appart from the inverter and the bulbs

 

[TicklyT]

You can power a 240V lamp from an inverter, it's just not a very efficient way of doing it when there are lamps available that are designed to operate on 12 Volts.

Perhaps something like this would answer your needs:-
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=L25BJ&DOY=1m7

Have a careful look at the outputs quoted for solar panels. They probably quote an output for direct sunlight, which you probably won't achieve without tracking the path of the sun. Most don't work very well in overcast conditions, so you may find you need to set them up in Arizona, and run a long extension lead.

Big-all - You say the battery still requires re-charging after about 120 door movements. That's about the figure I would expect for stand- alone battery without a charger. How does this compare with the battery life without the solar charger connected?

 

[breezer]

as i said it can be and has been done try a search.
but have to agree expensive of all the kit ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

b & q also have a solar powered shed light

 

[big-all]

although we looked at the maplin solar pannels we decided half the day would be in the shaddow of a tree so i didnt bother in the end

the origional battery supplied supplies purely the door but can supply the lighting also

the car battery supplies the light normaly plus the door when the normal battery charges [mains domestic]

didnt actualy mention solar power except in a thread some months ago