1st Post, Solar Shed Lighting, Need Guidance!

[lkruper]

Utility power is probably 25-30 feet, but i'm trying not to tie it to the house utilities. Our building code guy said that if it's tied to the house, either physically connected, or running house utilities (power, water, etc) then i'll have to pay taxes on the structure.

Matt

I think (not sure) that you could run low voltage from the house to the shed without a permit.

[lkruper]

Yes, that battery will work fine with solar. You won't need a big system. As for jerry-rigging a fixture, should work as far as I know. You won't have much risk of shock at 12v with low amps. However, I gave you links to a quality battery and charger. You won't spend much more doing it right. Also, don't forget fuses to protect everything.

A small 50w panel like this at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-V...tt+solar+panel) would work fine. Don't buy at Harbor Freight. A panel like this, even in the winter would keep your battery fully charged most of the time. You might never use the charger.

[lkruper]

Thats awesome information, thanks for taking the time to help me.

Couple more questions,

Say I did want to switch over to a solar system later on, would the same battery still work fine when hooked up to a solar charger/controller?

Here is the really stupid question: I have a couple of those clamp-on metal dish work lights that you can screw a regular bulb into. They are great! Can I screw one of these LED bulbs into one of those work lights? If so, do I just cut the 2-prong AC plug off and then crimp on some ring terminals or alligator clips to hook it to the battery?

Yes, that battery will work fine with solar. You won't need a big system. As for jerry-rigging a fixture, should work as far as I know. You won't have much risk of shock at 12v with low amps. However, I gave you links to a quality battery and charger. You won't spend much more doing it right. Also, don't forget fuses to protect everything.

[Motodeficient]

Try this:

1) Pick your 12v bulb[s] and note amps.
2) Multiply amps by number of hours usage per week.
3) Multiply that by 2

This is your battery in AH.

Lets get some bulbs at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/White-Sunthin-...5%3A2470955011

1) One 7w led bulb at 12v dc. 7w/12v = 0.6 amps.
2) 0.6 amps X 2 hrs per week = 1.2 Amp Hours
3) 1.2 Amp Hour X 2 = 2.4 AH (To make sure you only discharge battery to 50%)

Lets pick a battery. Does not need to be big. Odyssey AGM is a good brand.

http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-PC680-PC680-P-Battery/dp/B0002ILK6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440642506&sr=8-1&keywords=deep+cycle+agm+battery+odyssey&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

With this battery you can run that one light bulb for 2 hours a week for 7 weeks.

Now lets charge it. You need a small smart charger. Odyssey batteries like Odyssey chargers.

http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Battery-Tmax-6A-1B-Amp-Bank/dp/B0045G6Y0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440642854&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+charger+odyssey

The battery only weighs 13 pounds and is maintenance free. You can safely charge it in your house and take it back
to your shed.

Thats awesome information, thanks for taking the time to help me.

Couple more questions,

Say I did want to switch over to a solar system later on, would the same battery still work fine when hooked up to a solar charger/controller?

Here is the really stupid question: I have a couple of those clamp-on metal dish work lights that you can screw a regular bulb into. They are great! Can I screw one of these LED bulbs into one of those work lights? If so, do I just cut the 2-prong AC plug off and then crimp on some ring terminals or alligator clips to hook it to the battery?

[lkruper]

Not trying to hi-jack this thread but I am also trying to add some light to my shed without tying it into the utilities. Maybe the info can help the OP?

Could this be accomplished without a solar panel by charging the battery once in a while? I would use some low-wattage 12v lighting a few hours a week maybe...

What would be the best type of battery to do this with? What type of charger? If I got some of the 12v LED light bulbs that screw in like a regular light bulb, is there a DC shop light that I could plug the 12v bulbs into to connect to the battery?

Amazon links to a good batter, charger, and light fixture that would work for what I am trying to accomplish would be great!!

Try this:

1) Pick your 12v bulb[s] and note amps.
2) Multiply amps by number of hours usage per week.
3) Multiply that by 2

This is your battery in AH.

Lets get some bulbs at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/White-Sunthin-...5%3A2470955011

1) One 7w led bulb at 12v dc. 7w/12v = 0.6 amps.
2) 0.6 amps X 2 hrs per week = 1.2 Amp Hours
3) 1.2 Amp Hour X 2 = 2.4 AH (To make sure you only discharge battery to 50%)

Lets pick a battery. Does not need to be big. Odyssey AGM is a good brand.

http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-PC680-PC680-P-Battery/dp/B0002ILK6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440642506&sr=8-1&keywords=deep+cycle+agm+battery+odyssey&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

With this battery you can run that one light bulb for 2 hours a week for 7 weeks.

Now lets charge it. You need a small smart charger. Odyssey batteries like Odyssey chargers.

http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Battery-Tmax-6A-1B-Amp-Bank/dp/B0045G6Y0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440642854&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+charger+odyssey

The battery only weighs 13 pounds and is maintenance free. You can safely charge it in your house and take it back
to your shed.

[Motodeficient]

Not trying to hi-jack this thread but I am also trying to add some light to my shed without tying it into the utilities. Maybe the info can help the OP?

Could this be accomplished without a solar panel by charging the battery once in a while? I would use some low-wattage 12v lighting a few hours a week maybe...

What would be the best type of battery to do this with? What type of charger? If I got some of the 12v LED light bulbs that screw in like a regular light bulb, is there a DC shop light that I could plug the 12v bulbs into to connect to the battery?

Amazon links to a good batter, charger, and light fixture that would work for what I am trying to accomplish would be great!!

[SunEagle]

i could not get the 'edit post' to save.

ignore my last post.........




I thought about looking for 12v light bulbs, etc. and this deleted post was asking for suggestions.

I have several of the 8.5watt bulbs already, as well as the inverter.

It sounds like i should consider adding another battery to my 85wh deep cycle. Also, maybe a larger panel than the planned 100 renogy that i was going to purchase.

does this sound right?

Be careful. Just adding batteries and panels to a system without calculating how they work with each other can lead to one or more components failing.

First you should never add a new battery to an existing. The old one drops the life of the new one. Second you should stay away from wiring batteries in parallel. This can result in uneven charging and discharging.

The first thing to do is calculate what your daily watt hour use will be. Size your battery from that information (figure the battery to be 5 times as much as you need daily) and then size your solar pv wattage and charge controller based on the battery size and worst case sunlight insolation for your area.

You can make your battery work if you decide to use your existing 8.5watt lights and keep close attention to how long and many are used. You will need to increase your panel wattage from that single 100w panel so if you want to keep your system small you should get another one just like the first.

[Msollars]

i could not get the 'edit post' to save.

ignore my last post.........




I thought about looking for 12v light bulbs, etc. and this deleted post was asking for suggestions.

I have several of the 8.5watt bulbs already, as well as the inverter.

It sounds like i should consider adding another battery to my 85wh deep cycle. Also, maybe a larger panel than the planned 100 renogy that i was going to purchase.

does this sound right?

[SunEagle]

In theory, yes, but if he is wiring for standard 120V light fixtures, he's probably using 14-16AWG wire. Unless you use really big 12V lights, you don't need any more than that.

If the OP is "just" using low wattage LED 12v lights then yes the wire size won't change. If he decides to power something bigger like a Cooling system or large fan then you need to at least look at what the distance is between the battery and load.

Even in vehicles some of the 12volt devices father away from the battery use larger wire then those closer to the battery.

[emartin00]

Using 12volt lamps will eliminate the losses through a DC to AC inverter but may require larger wire size between the battery system and the lamps.

In theory, yes, but if he is wiring for standard 120V light fixtures, he's probably using 14-16AWG wire. Unless you use really big 12V lights, you don't need any more than that.

[SunEagle]

Thank you for the replies.
The "12" bulb number just came from a rough layout of the shed so far. I could probably even drop to as low as 3 bulbs....one for the loft area, one for under the loft, and one for the 12x8 open half of the shed. (i just like well lit areas, and am not sure how to judge the lumen output of 12v bulbs.....though i'm guessing 1 lumen = 1 lumen....no matter the voltage)

If i go with the 12v bulbs.......are there certain bulbs you recommend. You know the amount of space i'm lighting, and my 'well lit' requirement....what would you suggest.

Thanks again, so much for the help....i really do appreciate it.

Matt

Using 12volt lamps will eliminate the losses through a DC to AC inverter but may require larger wire size between the battery system and the lamps.

You can find a lot of different selections of 12volt lights at RV dealers and websites since just about all of those items run off of batteries.

As you found out you might not need to run all 12 lamps at the same time for any length of time which will help keep the solar/battery system in check. But if you underestimate your daily "watt hour" usage you can easily over discharge your battery.

[Msollars]

Utility power is probably 25-30 feet, but i'm trying not to tie it to the house utilities. Our building code guy said that if it's tied to the house, either physically connected, or running house utilities (power, water, etc) then i'll have to pay taxes on the structure.

Matt

[Msollars]

Thank you for the replies.
The "12" bulb number just came from a rough layout of the shed so far. I could probably even drop to as low as 3 bulbs....one for the loft area, one for under the loft, and one for the 12x8 open half of the shed. (i just like well lit areas, and am not sure how to judge the lumen output of 12v bulbs.....though i'm guessing 1 lumen = 1 lumen....no matter the voltage)

If i go with the 12v bulbs.......are there certain bulbs you recommend. You know the amount of space i'm lighting, and my 'well lit' requirement....what would you suggest.

Thanks again, so much for the help....i really do appreciate it.

Matt

[lkruper]

So here are the details that I have

I'm wanting to use some materials that I already own to light the inside (and outside) of a newly built 12x16 shed in my backyard.

I currently have......

1. (several) indoor rated 8.5 watt philips led bulbs (60watt equivalent)
2. 300watt msw inverter
3. 85AH Deep Cycle Battery

The shed will mostly be used for garden/lawn equipment, sporting goods, long term plastic clothing tub storage, etc. It has a 12x8 lofted area, the area underneath the loft, and the open ceiling 12x8 section. (14' peak)

Use: i'm guessing the inside will see a few hours at a time, tops......maybe 2 times per week. I'd also like to do some motion/dusk to dawn security lighting on the outside of the shed. This could be tied to the indoor system, or a separate solar motion light, or the like.

My questions are:

1. What size panel would i need to recharge the system based on my stated use time and lighting requirements?
2. would i need to wire all the inside lighting in series or parallel. (maybe 12 bulbs inside total)?
3. I'm an idiot about this stuff, so what red flags / problems do you see with any part of this system.

Thank you all so much,

Matt

How far away is your utility power to the shed?

[emartin00]

I think you would save yourself a fair amount of power if you just bought some 12V LED lights. If you are using the standard 8.5W, 120V household bulbs, then you are converting power to AC, and then the bulb is converting it back to DC. 12V led lights would run right off the battery and you wouldn't even need an inverter.

Also, do you really think you need 12 bulbs? Unless you have a massive shed, 12 LED bulbs is probably way overkill.