solar panels?

[red hott farmer]

where you recommend on buying solar panels and batteries and equiptment for a solar lighting system, If i was gonna put a light on a chicken tractor in a field where Power is not assessable. and I would want the 2 F-8 48" florescent lights comming on for 4 hours a day? thnaks

[humbug]

I have used Sunelco in the past. Great people and competative prices.

http://www.sunelco.com

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We've found Northern Arizona Wind and Sun to have better prices than Sunelco and they have great customer service.
http://www.solar-electric.com/

[wy_white_wolf]

If you know what componets you want, I've found Ebay to be the cheapest. If you don't know then I suggest you find someone local to put it together for you.

You might be better off to consider 12vdc or 24vdc lights so you don't have to have an invertor. 1 less componet to worry about being exposed to the elements in the field. They also make charge controllers that are also light controllers that will turn the lights on at dusk and off according to how long you've set them for.

Might also post in Alternative energy forum.

[wendle]

Where do you get 12vdc or 24vdc lights? I've had no luck find that or anything else to run on dc. I know I'm looking in all the wrong places.

[wendle]

Op if you're just looking for a light to see by and not heat then you might want to look into energy efficient lighting. I know it sounds sort of redneck, but I found some led christmas lights for 1.50 a string on sale. These are strung up in my lambing barn hooked up to a coleman 200 watt inverter, which is hooked up to a 12 volt deep cycle farm and fleet battery. The battery is charged by an 18 watt coleman solar panel, using a 5 amp charge controller that came with it. It's not the fanciest set up, not real bright, but I can easily see the sheep for late night feeding, feed and milk goats, and checking for lambs. This set up uses less than 6 watts of power.

[wy_white_wolf]

This one is a little on the expensive side. It puts about the same as a 60W bulb

http://cgi.ebay.com/ULTRA-BRIGHT-12-...QQcmdZViewItem

9 bulbs here. Each puts out about the same as a 22 watt bulb

http://cgi.ebay.com/9-bulbs12-Volt-5...QQcmdZViewItem

Some of the guys in the alternative energy forum may have better suppliers

[wy_white_wolf]

Another option would be track lighting as they make lots of 12v bulbs with the M16 base. The LED's would require very little wattage. You could also get 12v led christmas lights.

[agmantoo]

The level of light and the wave length are very critical to chickens to enhance their laying. Chickens have light receptors in their feathers that trigger laying. The florescent light mention has pins on the ends that corrode readily. We had to change all the lights in the chicken house due to fixture/lamp failure. I obtained as much info as I could and did some in depth research and came up with a lamp that had a different base and had the "right" light for the task. I have forgotten the exact lamp we installed but it was initially unacceptable to contract firm we partner with but now after a multi year use and the performance of the chickens they recommend the lamp to other producers. I can get the lamp type if interested.

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by wendle

Where do you get 12vdc or 24vdc lights?

I use the 120vac helical light bulbs. They're inexpensive, don't draw much wattage, and provide satisfactory light. You can also mount them in any standard electric lamp. Don't mess with DC lighting equipment. Helical light bulbs are efficient enough for off grid living.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is inverters. The normal controversy is over pure sine wave or modified sine wave inverters. I can put that to rest right now; pure sine wave inverters are way to expensive and inefficient. They'll drag your batteries down in no time. Modified sine wave inverters are perfectly satisfactory for most every appliance. Some computer equipment is sensitive to sine waves, but if you're going to live off grid you should be using a laptop anyway. The transformers that power laptops work fine on modified sine wave power. So do TVs.

As a side note, when you use a laptop off grid be sure to make use of your battery. My laptop takes about an hour to charge up all the way (even while I'm using it), then runs for about three hours on battery. That means that I get about 4 hours of use out of my laptop for each hour I'm plugged in. That's pretty good efficiency.

Okay, back to inverters. Which one to get? The best I've found are the Black & Decker inverters. The reason I like them is that the cooling fan operates only when needed, while the fans in most inverters run all the time -- eventually failing. Black & Decker inverters are also inexpensive and easy to find. Walmart carries the 200w, 400w, and 700w Black & Decker models. For most small homes 400 watts is satisfactory. The 400 watt Black & Decker model is about $45. The exception is if you're going to run an electric refrigerator (~130 watts), in which case you'll want to get the 700 watt inverter (about $70) so you can handle the approximatey 400 watt start-up surge.

If you can't live with 400 watts (less refrigerator) then you need to reassess your power usage. If your furnace, cooking stove, and water heater run on propane you should be able to stay well under 400 watts. You'll need to give up your microwave and electric toaster to live off grid, but lights, TV, boom box, and laptop computers are no problem. Of course, you'll need to buy a generator to run your power tools.

[texican]

The cheapest, yet most inefficient, 12 v. lights are the 12v light bulbs you get for your car/truck... cabin lights, park lights, etc. In the past I've used cheapo or recycled vehicle light fixtures, and popped in a 12 v bulb.

LED lights would be the most efficient, but goodness, they're mighty proud of those tiny bulbs.

You can order any size solar panel off the web... google it... or go to your local harbor freight store and pick up one cheap. Like Wendle said, I'd avoid inverters... extra level of complexity... and inverters dislike the 'weather'...

[Nevada]

Originally Posted by red hott farmer

where you recommend on buying solar panels and batteries and equiptment for a solar lighting system

Solar panels -- eBay. Figure you're going to need $4 to $5 per watt to buy complete panels. You can get it down to around $2/watt if you're willing to make your own enclosure. In that case you buy the individual solar cells. Here's an example.

http://cgi.ebay.com/36-1-5x6in-solar...QQcmdZViewItem

Batteries -- Walmart. They sell a good RV/Marine deep cycle battery for just under $70.

Inverter -- Walmart. Get the Black & Decker model that suits your needs (200, 400, or 700 watts).

[artificer]

2 48" bulbs put out WAY too much light, just to get the ladies laying. I've had good luck this year with a battery, 12v timer, and a couple of LED lights from Harbor Freight.
LED lights from Harbor Freight
The timer (SKU #dt04 if the link doesn't work

I disected the lights to get rid of the control circuit. Just soldered the supplied 12V power line to the LED's circuit board. I can go a week on one charge. I can definatly tell when the battery has lost its charge, since the egg laying slows down. Another nice thing about the LEDs is that they operate at any temperature. Unless you get a special 4' fixture, it will probably not start at anything less than 40-50 deg F. Compact flourescents tend to start at lower temps. I've seen some listed as -10deg F.

If you get a square wave inverter, you have to be carefull of the CF bulbs you buy. I have an inverter that will toast any of the cheap brand (can't rember which) bulbs I bought at Menards. The good Xantrex modified square wave inverter has no problems with them.

Take a look at this thread.

[Mallow]

I bought my 3kw of solar from:

http://www.sunelec.com/

Fairly easy transaction and the panels are evergreen solar's blemishes. They all tested up to correct power so can't complain.