Summerhouse Solar Panels

[mandyp]

Hi

I'd like power for light and possibly a socket (for a CD player or whatever) in my summerhouse. I'm not sure if this is even possible but thought that solar panels may be the answer.

I thought (with no knowledge of electricals) that solar might be safer, cheaper and less hassle as there would be no need to run a cable right down the garden.

Has anyone ever done this, or got any advice?

Thanks

 

[breezer]

honest opinion.

dont bother.

solar is the new "in thing" what they dont tell you is its expensive to do and not very good here in the uk

all solar panels need good sunlight to work, which we dont get much of.

to optimise solar energy you need big solar panels, these are by no means cheap, you then need a way of storing any energy you get, but you cant connect a solar panel directly to a battery, you need a "regulator" (more money)

some one on this forum did do it though, (solar panel, inverter, regulator, battery) but i dont think they said how much.

currently i am testing a diy shed brought solar shed light at my mothers garage, i havent been back since i installed it 2 weeks ago to find out how its doing, but the lights are good for anything close up (it has 5 white leds) but not good for "general lighting" I am really concerned with how long the solar cells will last, i give them 2 years max.(What do you expect for some cheap rubbish)

in short its not realy worth all the hype, but is possible, you will find some panels on a well known auction site, (just looked, its a bit on the big side but a 180 watt panel over £500)

you must have a solar panel bigger than the amount you will be using in orde to be able to charge a battery, so the 1 watt car ones are out for a start

 

[MasterAbacus]

honest opinion.

dont bother.

solar is the new "in thing" what they dont tell you is its expensive to do and not very good here in the uk

all solar panels need good sunlight to work, which we dont get much of.

Well Breezer, i think you will find your not too up on your solar energy... Solar Pannels do not need direct sunlight.... Well.... some do.... the ones that use the heat from the sun to heat water directly...

Ones used for generating electrical energy only need daylight, Its still advised to have them in a south facing direction, but you can have them layed flat on an open suface and they will work just fine.

You should be able to knock together a simple system for a shed / garage for sub £500. Yes its not cheap, and it wont run big power tools, but will quite happily power a radio and some lighting.

Green energy is the way forward.... Cost should never be a factor, its all about saving our recources and our planet.

 

[Richard C]

Hi

I'd like power for light and possibly a socket (for a CD player or whatever) in my summerhouse. I'm not sure if this is even possible but thought that solar panels may be the answer.

I thought (with no knowledge of electricals) that solar might be safer, cheaper and less hassle as there would be no need to run a cable right down the garden.

Has anyone ever done this, or got any advice?

Thanks

Buy yourself a portable CD player instead; initial outlay will be expensive, probably take 300 years to pay for itself & it won't provide any serious power; so if your thinking of a heater, forget it, you’ll be pushed to run anything more than a couple of small light bulbs!

I have solar heating panels & yes they provide free hot water 8 months of the year but they were already at the house when I bought it so the previous owner coughed up the initial outlay. The guy next door has just put in a similar system & it cost him nearly £4K! Sorry to say I wouldn't have bothered, the number of years to pay back is mind boggling. With all of the current hype associated with so called “green energy”, politicians are having a field day & everyone is jumping on the money spinning band wagon but “saving the planet” isn't that high on my list of priorities.

 

[breezer]

sorry MasterAbacus i have to dsagree with you.

solar panels (electric) do require direct sunlight

Other factors that affect the output of solar panels are weather conditions, shade caused by obstructions to direct sunlight and the angle and position at which the solar panel is installed. Solar panels function best when placed in direct sunlight, away from obstructions that might cast shade and in areas with high regional solar-insolation ratings

quote taken from here

it is also why if you buy a solar light (like the ones i am testing) it clearly states "last for up to 6 hours"

note the words "up to"

i also have (for testing purposes) 2 garden solar lights i just checked, one is on the other isnt, one is in an exposed area the other isnt, although neither is shaded, but one gets more direct bright sunlight than the other.

and as i also said dont bother because of the cost of the things (bigger solar panels)

its true they are good but untill the price comes down of the efficancy goes up (it is slowly) then they are not worth it.

also forgot to mention (i confess to watching QVC) they once had a "studio full" of solar operated fountains, none were working
the "guest" explained the studio lights were just not bright enough. never saw them again, i wonder why

 

[Samd1964]

sorry MasterAbacus i have to dsagree with you.

solar panels (electric) do require direct sunlight

Other factors that affect the output of solar panels are weather conditions, shade caused by obstructions to direct sunlight and the angle and position at which the solar panel is installed. Solar panels function best when placed in direct sunlight, away from obstructions that might cast shade and in areas with high regional solar-insolation ratings

quote taken from here

it is also why if you buy a solar light (like the ones i am testing) it clearly states "last for up to 6 hours"

note the words "up to"

i also have (for testing purposes) 2 garden solar lights i just checked, one is on the other isnt, one is in an exposed area the other isnt, although neither is shaded, but one gets more direct bright sunlight than the other.

and as i also said dont bother because of the cost of the things (bigger solar panels)

its true they are good but untill the price comes down of the efficancy goes up (it is slowly) then they are not worth it.

also forgot to mention (i confess to watching QVC) they once had a "studio full" of solar operated fountains, none were working
the "guest" explained the studio lights were just not bright enough. never saw them again, i wonder why

Breezer you quote no where says it wont work without sun only the output will be "affected" besides you are quoting for tiny solar cells rather than a full sized panel the cells youy quote from are inches square thather than high output cells designed to generate usable energy for consumer consumption. This is like comparing apples and oranges. Perhaps you need to do more research on modern solar panels

 

[ban-all-sheds]

A reply to a post almost 6 years old