Kids Playhouse Question

[SunEagle]

One advantage of using something like that for the playhouse is that if you have bad weather blocking your PV you can always carry the power pack to the house to charge it.

Yeah. They are light & portable and can provide enough power for small loads before they can be easily charged at the house.

I guess the big question is how many watt hours does the OP think his kids will use each day. Once that is determined then a portable battery system can be sized.

[inetdog]

I have one of those jumpstart packs and use it to run a fan for my wife when the power goes out. It can only safely provide about 90 watt hours at 50% DOD but that is enough to run small loads or charge a phone.

One advantage of using something like that for the playhouse is that if you have bad weather blocking your PV you can always carry the power pack to the house to charge it.

[Mike90250]

I have 3 of the power packs, They have a 12V 18ah AGM battery and each can easily run my CPAP for 8 hours. Never tried testing how long the USB chargers are good for, but I have the adapter for my dewalt battery packs that can charge my cell phone

But for a kids playhouse, abondon the 120VAC wiring, and use the jump packs..... and let the kids learn to bring them in to charge them up.

[SunEagle]

It's a kids playhouse, and they do make fast automotive 12v chargers.

I like the jumpstart powerpack. Most have usb outlets and a 12v lighter jack

I have one of those jumpstart packs and use it to run a fan for my wife when the power goes out. It can only safely provide about 90 watt hours at 50% DOD but that is enough to run small loads or charge a phone.

[Mike90250]

A USB charger will work but it might take longer then a cord with a 120v wall wart.

It's a kids playhouse, and they do make fast automotive 12v chargers.

I like the jumpstart powerpack. Most have usb outlets and a 12v lighter jack

[SunEagle]

I might have missed something. I thought I would be able to use 5v usb charger or similar 12v not needing AC inverter

A USB charger will work but it might take longer then a cord with a 120v wall wart.

[azdave]

Would really just need a light or 2 and charge cell phone.

Dang, I feel old! Our playhouse (fort) used railroad lanterns for lighting. Two soup cans with some string between them served as our communication system.

If I were building a simple system for the grandkids I would use a portable 12-volt jump pack to run the lights and USB charger. Teach the kids to take it in the house and charge it up each night if they want lights and recharging.

[bob-n]

Please check your math. With the LiFePO4 battery, you can discharge further, so it should give you more capacity than a LA battery. I think that you need to multiply by 80% rather than divide by 80% DoD. Same for efficiency.

Lead Acid: 600 Wh battery * 50% DoD * 80% efficiency = 240Wh of usablecapacity. Assume 12V battery, so 240 ÷ 12 = 20 Ah.
LiFePO4: 600 Wh battery * 80% DoD * 90% efficiency = 432Wh of usable capacity. Assume 12V battery, so 432 ÷ 12 = 36 Ah.

Yes, you can use a car 12V to USB adapter for charging.

[Krod607]

I might have missed something. I thought I would be able to use 5v usb charger or similar 12v not needing AC inverter

[SunEagle]

I am think that going with a 12v solar panel system is my best option. I will leave the current wiring alone.
Looking at my battery needs I found some calculations online. Looking to see if they are accurate.
looking over my usage

Lead Acid: 600 Wh battery ÷ 50% DoD ÷ 80% efficiency = 1500Wh. Assume 12V battery, so 1500 ÷ 12 = 125 Ah.
LiFePO4: 600 Wh battery ÷ 80% DoD ÷ 90% efficiency = 834 Wh. Assume 12V battery, so 1500 ÷ 12 = 70 Ah.

Just remember you will need an inverter for your cell phone charger. And that one may need to be a pure sine wave type.

[Krod607]

I am think that going with a 12v solar panel system is my best option. I will leave the current wiring alone.
Looking at my battery needs I found some calculations online. Looking to see if they are accurate.
looking over my usage

Lead Acid: 600 Wh battery ÷ 50% DoD ÷ 80% efficiency = 1500Wh. Assume 12V battery, so 1500 ÷ 12 = 125 Ah.
LiFePO4: 600 Wh battery ÷ 80% DoD ÷ 90% efficiency = 834 Wh. Assume 12V battery, so 1500 ÷ 12 = 70 Ah.

[SunEagle]

You're talking about a small "off grid" electric system.

A simple way to do this is to get a solar panel, a solar battery charger, and a 12V battery. Then run everything in the playhouse from 12V. That simplifies the system and also reduces the shock hazard. You can get 12V LED bulbs and 12V cell chargers. When the kids are grown, you can also get a 12V fridge for beer.

If you need 120VAC, you need all of the above plus an inverter.

Then it becomes a matter of estimating your power usage and the sunlight available so you can size the panels and battery. We can help you calculate requirements. Think about how long the lights will be on, how much power they use, how many hours per day you'll have full sun, whether you want to allow for a few cloudy or rainy days without sun, etc. It all comes down to your assumptions and simple math.

Most prewired "sheds" are using 120V equipment including a GFI type receptacle.

My guess is that to go with a 12V system the OP would need to replace all of the existing electrical components.

But again if 120V is required it will need some type of GFI protection.

[Krod607]

Thanks for help and advice. Will research more and look for the best solar panel system to use.

[bob-n]

Power usage: 3 lights, LED, 10 watts each, 2 hours each = 60 watt hours per day.
We recommend that people not discharge batteries below 50%. The less you discharge them, the longer they last. You might select 150 watt hours of battery, to give you extra margin for one cloudy day. If you plan on a few cloudy days, get 200 watt hours or more.
You need to replace that 60 watt hours with 4 hours of solar energy. A 100 watt solar panel would be more than adequate.

You're best to get advice from an electrician. From what I know, you don't want to connect 120VAC outlets to 12V DC. If the light fixture and light switches installed are rated for 12V DC operation (some are and some aren't), I think you can reuse them.

[Krod607]

With the set up you suggested above we would just ignore what’s already in there and just the 12v solar panel system for power?