Just want to run a 60 watt bulb, is it possible?

[cladano]

I'm building a chicken coop at the back of my property and I can't run a power line all the way out to it. I will need enough electricity to run 1 60 watt bulb all day and night and another 60 watt bulb for maybe 3-4 hours. Can this be accomplished for under $500-600 and would it work in the middle of winter in Iowa?

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/des-moines-iowa.html

If a solar panel wouldn't produce enough electricity, is there some way to charge a battery from my house and swap it out at the coop and have it last maybe a week?
Or would I just need more batteries in a solar panel setup?
Is it a waste of time?
Any and all ideas welcome,
Thanks!

[Naptown]

Is the 60W for heat or just lighting?
The illumination level can be acheived at much lower wattage.

[TnAndy]

Assuming it DOES have to be a 60w, a further question would be is 12v ok ? That would save inverting battery voltage to 120v, and the losses associated with that.

So, assuming you use straight 12v, 24hrs of 60w =1440watt/hours + say 4 more hours of another bulb = 240w/hrs, for a total of 1680w/hrs.

Using 12v, and assuming zero losses ( shouldn't be much anyway ), 1680w/hr / 12v = 140amp/hrs each 24hr period.

Since you don't want to discharge a battery more than 50% on a regular basis, you'd need about 280amp/hrs in battery ( call it 300 to be safe ).....and actually, you'd need two sets.....one to leave in place at the chickens, and one to have recharging.

SO, go shopping for 300amp/hrs worth of battery, and you'll find you're talking about a couple of 6v, L-16 batteries that weigh about 100lbs each...or two hundred pounds of battery to lug between the charging source ( house I guess ? ) and the the Chick Chalet.

To recharge them at the chicken house without lugging back and forth to the house (every day, by the way ), you would need around a 3000 watt solar panel array (or more), charge controller, and more batteries, since cloudy weather would mean more backup....

So, the bottom line is, no, you can't do it for 400-500 bucks......you'd be hard pressed to even buy batteries to lug back and forth without the solar addition for that amount, especially when you throw in the cost of a decent charger.

SO, do what I did....get out the DitchWitch, and run a line to the chicken house.

[Naptown]

Go through the same excersise with say a CFL bulb which at 14W is the same light output as a 60W incandescent.
Why on 24 hours a day I don't know, most chicken houses dim and go off at night. Chickens need their sleep to lay eggs.
Anyway 14x24=336WH
14x say 5 hours = 70WH
At 12V this is 402WH a day/ 12V =33.5AH per day.
So to cover this you need to multiply by 5 so you don't discharge your battery more than 20% regularly. (50% is OK but not on a regular basis.)
So you need a 150AH battery Most likely 2 100AH batteries. Cheap ones can be had for about $100 each
You will also need a charge controller PWM is OK say about $50.00
You will also need a pure sine wave inverter (small is OK say 200W) figure about 2-300 for this
Lastly you need panels They will need to be 12V panels and you will need 200W of them. These will set you back somewhere around 6-800 Dollars.
Grand guestimate on costs $1050 - $1250
The ditch witch is looking better all the time.

[Sunking]

I'm building a chicken coop at the back of my property and I can't run a power line all the way out to it. I will need enough electricity to run 1 60 watt bulb all day and night and another 60 watt bulb for maybe 3-4 hours. Can this be accomplished for under $500-600 and would it work in the middle of winter in Iowa?

Not even remotely possible. 60 watts x 24 hours = 1440 watt hours.

Iowa Winter Insolation is 3 Sun Hours. You would need to generate 2880 watt hours at the panel terminals to give you 1440 wh of usable power So the minimum size solar panel required is 2880 wh / 3 h = 960 watts. A 960 watt panel will cost $1500 to $2000. That does not include the $500 charge controller, and the $1600 battery.

[Sunking]

If a solar panel wouldn't produce enough electricity, is there some way to charge a battery from my house and swap it out at the coop and have it last maybe a week?

On paper it could be done, but you are talking about a $6000 battery that weighs 1400 pounds.

[TnAndy]

Go through the same excersise with say a CFL bulb which at 14W is the same light output as a 60W incandescent.

Yeah, that's what I use in mine. But I also have a couple of screwbase heater bulbs (75w ea) (no light, just a ceramic heater element ) up on the roost area to cut the chill on nights like tonight when it gets down in the single digit temps. And a 40w incandescent bulb in a big cookie tin acting has a radiant heater, placed directly under a hanging waterer so it doesn't freeze.

By the way, I'm not convinced extending light hours makes all that much difference in their laying eggs.....seems about the same with or without the light.

[cladano]

Yeah, that's what I use in mine. But I also have a couple of screwbase heater bulbs (75w ea) (no light, just a ceramic heater element ) up on the roost area to cut the chill on nights like tonight when it gets down in the single digit temps. And a 40w incandescent bulb in a big cookie tin acting has a radiant heater, placed directly under a hanging waterer so it doesn't freeze.

By the way, I'm not convinced extending light hours makes all that much difference in their laying eggs.....seems about the same with or without the light.

Sorry I forgot to mention the purpose of the bulb. Yes the 60 watt bulb would be for a cookie tin water heater so the water fount doesn't freeze. I could probably get by with a 40 watt bulb but figured I would see if it's possible with a 60. And yes the additional bulb for a few hours would be to extend the daylight so they hens would lay more. I'll have to look and see if that is actually beneficial. I read that in a book but haven't looked up any real world reviews on that.

Great advice and quick responses from everyone. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So from what you guys (gals) are saying it is NOT doable for less than $600. Makes sense as I know batteries and high watt panels can be expensive.

Ditch witch is seeming like a better option. Or maybe during the below zero days/weeks/months I'll park the chicken tractor closer to the house and use an extension cord.

Ugh.. there has been so many projects that I think "solar would be great for this project" only to find out that it's too expensive and not cost efective.

Thanks again everyone.

[Sunking]

Ditch witch is seeming like a better option.

It is your best and most cost effective solution. Plus no worries or power limitations. Run all the lights and heaters you want.

[Sunking]

Sorry I forgot to mention the purpose of the bulb. Yes the 60 watt bulb would be for a cookie tin water heater so the water fount doesn't freeze.

Yeah I kind of figured that one out myself, plus having a lot of family that are farmers and ranchers I know chicken coops need heaters for the water in winter. Not too mention I have seen this question asked by chicken farmers a few times Unfortunately winter is a huge challenge for solar as there is not much Sun..