Question for you solar guru's

[Ziptie]

So, I was thinking for Father's Day to get my hubby a small solar set up to ---- around with.

We have a small shed where we keep our meat birds. It would be nice to be able to have the things in that shed run on solar. Things that would need to be ran is...
digital timer
one florescent light bulb
2 chicken heat lamp (Though if need be I could run just one)

So, what would I need to get?

[Bellyman]

The timer and the light bulb are easy.

The heat lamp might be a little more difficult. How many watts does each draw and are they on 24/7? Sorry I'm not familiar enough to know.

[Dixie Bee Acres]

I'm sorry but running heat lamps from a solar array isn't very efficient.
There was a discussion on this very topic a while back ago, let me see if i can find a link.

[Dixie Bee Acres]

Ok, here is a link to the thread. You have to read all of the posts and it is now a little hard to follow. The original poster got his panties in a twist because he didn't like the answers he got, and deleted his questions. But the original question and all related information and technical answers are there.

Harbor Freight 45 watt kit battery?

[Ziptie]

Hmm... The heat lamp is your standard heat lamp for chickens with the big red bulbs 250 watt/120 volt bulbs.

The heat lamps are used in the begging and are ran 24/7 for the first 2-3 weeks. I could run a cord out to the shed for those like what we have now but it would be nice not to have to. The florescent light is on just for a few hours after dark to draw them in.

Plus, this shed is not used in the winter.

[Ziptie]

Originally Posted by Dixie Bee Acres

Ok, here is a link to the thread. You have to read all of the posts and it is now a little hard to follow. The original poster got his panties in a twist because he didn't like the answers he got, and deleted his questions. But the original question and all related information and technical answers are there.

Harbor Freight 45 watt kit battery?

Much thanks will start reading.

So, I read it...I sound like their is no way to run the heat lamps off a a "cheap" solar array. Could this Harber Fright run the light and the digital timer? Is wind any better then solar?

[wy_white_wolf]

Originally Posted by Ziptie

Hmm... The heat lamp is your standard heat lamp for chickens with the big red bulbs 250 watt/120 volt bulbs....

Just so you have an Idea what it'll take per heat lamp.

250 watts X 24 hours = 6,000WH daily usage.

For an average insolation of 4 hours a day using an MPPT controller:

6000WH X 1.2(effiency rating) / 4 hours = 1800 watts. That's how big of a solar array you will need for each heat lamp.

Battery would be:

6000 WH x 5 / system voltage = 2500AH for 12v, 1250AH for 24v, or 625AH for 48V

Average cost for offgrid is about $3000 for each KW of daily usage so with your 6KW it would be about $18,000 to run each heat lamp.

For the timer and light I would need to know the wattage and hour many hours a day they operate (worst case) and season (months) it is to be used.

WWW

WWW

[Peasant]

Originally Posted by Ziptie

Much thanks will start reading.

So, I read it...I sound like their is no way to run the heat lamps off a a "cheap" solar array. Could this Harber Fright run the light and the digital timer? Is wind any better then solar?

As WWW wrote above, running a heat lamp 24/7 would be price prohibitive using solar. I'd consider a propane heater if you need to heat a brooder without access to grid power.

I haven't heard great things about the Harbor Freight panels, they apparently have an issue with longevity---HF generally doesn't equal quality in most cases.

To just run a light and timer, I'd consider a smaller Renogy panel + small charge controller + 12V deep cycle battery + small inverter. You'd have to set everything up yourself, but you'll get a lot more bang for the buck compared to the HF kits.

Here's an example: 100W Renogy panel with 30A charge controller (big enough to expand the system if you want to).

This panel in ideal conditions will provide 5.29 amps, so say 20 amp hours per day. Running a lamp with an LED bulb from an inverter draws about 1 amp @ 12V (including the draw of the inverter).

So you could, in theory, run a light for 20 hours per day using this system. Numbers are rough guestimates, of course, really depends on your specific equipment and conditions.

[Fire-Man]

At this time---Solar is Still Not Cheap, unless you can get the Government to pay for your sysyem.

A Compact Florescent is do-able on a 45 watt Harbor Freight set-up for a few hours per day--if you do not have alot of cloudy days in a row and you got a battery set-up sized for this system. If you are thinking on Solar as a way to save money-----You will come out alot better to run a wire to this shed to run it all. If You want solar as a back-up, then its going to get deep in your pockets when trying to run heat.

[Nimrod]

I agree with what Fireman said.

If you are determined to do solar to provide a light for a few hours a day I suggest you go all 12 volt. This does away with the inverter. The set up would be a solar panel, a charge controller, a battery, a 12 volt DC timer, and a 12 volt DC light bulb.

I found this for the timer,
http://www.amazon.com/Amico-Digital-...productDetails

They make a curly fl 12 volt bulb I have used in the camper and ice fishing house. Menards carried them for $10 each. I used a 12 volt LED light in the camper. I think it was about $12 from an RV dealer. It has really harsh light but I don't think the chickens will mind.

The panel controller, and battery are sized to handle the load of the timer and light with several days of clouds factored in and the desire not to run the battery down more than half way.

[Mrs_Lewis]

The cost of solar here is quite baffling. In northern England they're on every other house, quite a few in Sweden too. Yet here in southern California they're sparsely utilized. Mind boggling.

[Peasant]

Originally Posted by Nimrod

I agree with what Fireman said.

If you are determined to do solar to provide a light for a few hours a day I suggest you go all 12 volt. This does away with the inverter. The set up would be a solar panel, a battery, a 12 volt DC timer, and a 12 volt DC light bulb.

Yep, if all someone wants to do is run a light or two, 12V is the way to go. It's easy enough to attach an inverter if needed to run other stuff.

RV fixtures are cheap, LED bulbs are a bit spendy, but they draw very little power. I have an 1141 LED that only draws 0.13 amps @ 12V.

If I were to build a micro solar electric system designed to light a shed, I'd consider this (all prices on Amazon, including shipping):

--$150 100W Renogy panel
--$17 Sunforce 7a charge controller
--$65 35 ah AGM battery
--$7 RV light fixture
--$10 1141 LED bulb

Maybe $300 total once you include wire, fuses, homemade panel mount, maybe a cheap meter. I'd also add a 12V cigarette adapter to the battery so you could plug in a small automobile-type inverter, cell phone charger, etc.

This system would run an 1141 LED lamp for roughly 135 hours (drawing the 35 ah battery down to 50%, not including voltage loss from wiring and other inefficiencies).

The 100W panel should recharge this battery just fine most of the time given the small load, but during extended bad weather it'd be easy enough to hook the battery up to a charger like this as long as you had access to grid power (or a generator).

[mistletoad]

What would it take to run a Brinsea EcoGlo Brooder? Per their website it uses 18 watts at 12v.

[modineg44]

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...esteading/info

This is a wonderful solar group. Ask there and you will get great information.

[Peasant]

Originally Posted by mistletoad

What would it take to run a Brinsea EcoGlo Brooder? Per their website it uses 18 watts at 12v.

18W @ 12V = 1.5 amps

1.5 amps x 24 hours = 36 amp-hours per day

Assume you run your battery down to 50% (the lowest you want to regularly go with a deep cycle battery):

36 ah per day / 0.50 = 72 amp-hour battery to run the brooder for one day.

A 150 ah deep cycle battery would allow you to run the brooder for 2 days in case of power outage, bad weather if on solar, etc. You can sometimes find these slightly used in the $100-$150 range. I'd consider a 130 ah Trojan SCS225, new ones are ~$190 in my area.

Hardest part would be keeping a big battery like this charged. You'd need roughly 300-400 watts of solar panels to keep a Trojan SCS225 reliably charged year round. Or a good 15-30 amp multi-stage battery charger and a way to run it on grid power.

[wogglebug]

If you really want a system for your husband to play with, then get what has been suggested here, then let him play. One thing he might like to play with is extending it with a wind turbine running an old-fashioned truck or auto generator. I do not know enough to recommend this, but I suggest that a Savonius-type windmill (vertical axis, like a spinning roof ventilator) would be fairly bullet-proof. Not efficient - Savonius windmills aren't; but able to withstand a lot. Maybe he could then experiment with a Darrieus or Giromill turbine, which are more efficient but more finicky. It could be topping up your battery charge whenever there was wind, like overnight or in heavy cloud cover, when the solar cells weren't doing much. If hubbie's wind experiments didn't work, you'd still have a decent small solar setup.

Another thing to consider is that you don't need to run solar energy through electricity, where every energy conversion produces more inefficiency. You can use it directly as heat, running a solar water heater. That could take care of your heat requirements during the day.

There's also insulation. If you insulated the roof you'd significantly reduce heat needs. Do the walls as well and your efficiency begins, so to speak, to go through the roof. You'd need to seal it in though. Chooks eat foam if they can get to it.

You'd never make money on all this, of course, but it's a nice controllable and affordable size for experimentation and a pilot-site.

[Funbowhunter]

Reading this shows me that solar is a pipe dream.

[Jim-mi]

That is a completely untrue statement.

More than anything this thread is good to show that people need to learn all the basics about solar.
I see this all the time ---just like this thread---someone has not -yet- learned that the hucksters who pedal cheap junk, like the HF "kit" promise the world---for pennies . . . . .well the experienced folks then need to step in and correct things.
And the good thing on this thread is that this woman poster has learned a bunch--before--buying her husband something that would not work.

Pipe dream . .my eye . . . . .You sir need to learn.................

Posted from my Solar powered home and puter.....

[Gray Wolf]

Originally Posted by Jim-mi

That is a completely untrue statement.

More than anything this thread is good to show that people need to learn all the basics about solar.
I see this all the time ---just like this thread---someone has not -yet- learned that the hucksters who pedal cheap junk, like the HF "kit" promise the world---for pennies . . . . .well the experienced folks then need to step in and correct things.
And the good thing on this thread is that this woman poster has learned a bunch--before--buying her husband something that would not work.

Pipe dream . .my eye . . . . .You sir need to learn.................

Posted from my Solar powered home and puter.....

It's always simply fascinating to sit here in our solar powered 3,500 sf home, using solar powered satellite internet, on a solar recharged laptop, and read how solar doesn't work. I just wish somebody had told us this years ago. I think I'll go plug in the coffee pot, get some cream out of the electric frig and think this all over.

In the meantime, kudos to everyone who asks their first question about solar. It can be done smart or _____, but it can be done. The biggest problem is thinking it can be done properly and cheap. Do some research, ask some questions, spend some money - and enjoy. It works in 2014 better/cheaper than ever.

[EAParent]

I haven't started homesteading yet, but I've been doing a lot of research.

In order to heat any structure for animals, I thought I'd give passive solar hot water a try. I'd run the water pipes under the floor.

I'm still not sure if that would be do-able, but it seems to make sense.

Here's a link to a DIY on Mother Earth News:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/green...#axzz33ItOE5yw