I’ve a fairly large shed/outbuilding ( about 20 feet by 25 feet) which I use as a games room, as a project I’m interested in powering the lighting with low voltage bulbs, run from solar panels, how efficient, expensive and difficult would this be to do, and what equipment would be needed? Many Thanks for any help.
Solar Power for Outbuilding
- Thread starter whidaboutfood
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OK, so think about this.
The first thing is: do I need the lights at night?. You may have noticed that there is no sun at night-time. So you'll need some batteries that the solar panels will charge during the day.
The next thing is, how big a battery do i need.
That will be governed by what you need to power.
How many lights do you need, how many watts per light, etc.
Oh yes, and don't forget that you may want to power other stuff. Do these "games" need electricity? How much.
And how will you heat the building? Electric heaters take a lot of power.
Make a list, and come back with more information.
PS. How high is the ceiling of this building?
PPS "Low voltage" includes 230volts. Did you mean low, or extra low voltage?
The first thing is: do I need the lights at night?. You may have noticed that there is no sun at night-time. So you'll need some batteries that the solar panels will charge during the day.
The next thing is, how big a battery do i need.
That will be governed by what you need to power.
How many lights do you need, how many watts per light, etc.
Oh yes, and don't forget that you may want to power other stuff. Do these "games" need electricity? How much.
And how will you heat the building? Electric heaters take a lot of power.
Make a list, and come back with more information.
PS. How high is the ceiling of this building?
PPS "Low voltage" includes 230volts. Did you mean low, or extra low voltage?
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As already said the amount of power will change the answer but it's not just a case of adding up the amp-hours.
Both wind chargers and solar panels have a variable voltage at which the maximum power can be delivered. With solar panels the voltage increases as the sun gets stronger so the voltage regulator can either simply get rid of excess as heat or it can be very clever turning the DC to AC and transforming it to the voltage output required so that the input voltage can vary allowing much smaller panels to give the same output over the day.
Balancing the costs is not easy and the first step must be to work out the requirement.
Batteries are another problem. The car battery is designed to be fully charged for most of it's life and is not suitable for deep cycling. So either the leisure battery or traction battery is required when using lead acid. Nickel Iron or NiCad/NiMh batteries are far better but the cost sores.
However since the alkaline battery can be stored flat where the acid battery should be stored charged then one has to consider how often the battery will be allowed to become fully charged or fully discharged.
I tried to power with batteries both in Falklands and on a narrow boat and in both cases I had to provide for a method to charge from engine or mains supply. Using a battery which can be transported between shed and house is likely best option. Solar is good to keep it topped up when not in use but likely not cost effective to have enough solar to re-charge when the lights have been used at night.
Both wind chargers and solar panels have a variable voltage at which the maximum power can be delivered. With solar panels the voltage increases as the sun gets stronger so the voltage regulator can either simply get rid of excess as heat or it can be very clever turning the DC to AC and transforming it to the voltage output required so that the input voltage can vary allowing much smaller panels to give the same output over the day.
Balancing the costs is not easy and the first step must be to work out the requirement.
Batteries are another problem. The car battery is designed to be fully charged for most of it's life and is not suitable for deep cycling. So either the leisure battery or traction battery is required when using lead acid. Nickel Iron or NiCad/NiMh batteries are far better but the cost sores.
However since the alkaline battery can be stored flat where the acid battery should be stored charged then one has to consider how often the battery will be allowed to become fully charged or fully discharged.
I tried to power with batteries both in Falklands and on a narrow boat and in both cases I had to provide for a method to charge from engine or mains supply. Using a battery which can be transported between shed and house is likely best option. Solar is good to keep it topped up when not in use but likely not cost effective to have enough solar to re-charge when the lights have been used at night.
In summary:
Not at all.
Very.
Practically impossible.
Don't even think about it.
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Look for the solar set-ups used by the caravanning and boating fraternities - they're geared towards powerig up batteries to run 12-volt lighting systems.
PJ
Install a child sized hamster wheel with a generation system.
An hour on the Wii ( or what ever is the latest must have games machine ) is powered by an hour ( or more ) on the treadwheel. You will have healthy kids who realise the true cost of playing computor games.
An hour on the Wii ( or what ever is the latest must have games machine ) is powered by an hour ( or more ) on the treadwheel. You will have healthy kids who realise the true cost of playing computor games.
I agree that for a 'games room' solar power is almost useless.
BUT, if your going to go down the 12V route, then your in luck.
My camper runs off a split charge 12V system into a leisure battery, which powers a bank of LED lighting, charges a notebook and also runs my DVD player and sound system. I can run for hours with everything turned on (I am no sparkie so cannot work out the a/h), I am planning to put two 80w panel's on the roof to keep it charged up when we go camping for longer then a weekend (although we do have 230V hook up, its nice to not have to be at a site and hooked up).
My friend runs a whole DJ set up from his camper (decks, laptop, mixer, amp & disco lights) from his system, he uses two 12V leisure batteries and he says that a 8 hour charge will give him two hours at full power (again two 80w panel's).
So if your planning LED lighting and low powered equipment, then no reason why not.
Remember you will need leisure batteries not just a 12V battery, also a charge controller otherwise you could fry your batteries.
BUT, if your going to go down the 12V route, then your in luck.
My camper runs off a split charge 12V system into a leisure battery, which powers a bank of LED lighting, charges a notebook and also runs my DVD player and sound system. I can run for hours with everything turned on (I am no sparkie so cannot work out the a/h), I am planning to put two 80w panel's on the roof to keep it charged up when we go camping for longer then a weekend (although we do have 230V hook up, its nice to not have to be at a site and hooked up).
My friend runs a whole DJ set up from his camper (decks, laptop, mixer, amp & disco lights) from his system, he uses two 12V leisure batteries and he says that a 8 hour charge will give him two hours at full power (again two 80w panel's).
So if your planning LED lighting and low powered equipment, then no reason why not.
Remember you will need leisure batteries not just a 12V battery, also a charge controller otherwise you could fry your batteries.
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