Wiring 50 10W+ RGB LED pond lights

[Sunking]

No grid power. Batteries will be in parallel, system is only 12VDC. Panels in parallel, and lights in parallel. Sealed AGM batteries.

I guess I used the calculator wrong? What should I be looking at for batteries?

You are doing as much wrong as you possible can.

[NiHaoMike]

I need 4hrs per day of run time in a location that gets 4 solar hours per day. I've used a solar calculator to determine I need 5 75Ah batteries and 11 100W panels. My question is, should I wire everything up in parallel in one big 50 light circuit? Or would I be better off with 5 (or however many) individual circuits each with 1 batt, 2 panels and 10 best pond lights? I chose 75 Ah batteries because I already had two, but should I consider smaller batteries with fewer lights off each? I know 10W each is not that much, it just feels like an awful lot of lights on one circuit, be it 50 or even 10.

Also, if anyone has a good source for IP67 RGB LED pond lights other than what I can find on Amazon I sure would be appreciative. Thanks!!

Based on the information you provided, it sounds like you're planning to run 50 LED lights, each consuming 10W, for a total of 500W. To run these lights for 4 hours per day, you will need a total energy storage capacity of 2000 Wh (watt-hours) per day. To achieve this, you have calculated that you will need 5 x 75Ah batteries, which will give you a total capacity of 450Ah at 12V (or 5.4 kWh). Additionally, you will need 11 x 100W solar panels, which should generate approximately 4 solar hours x 11 panels x 100W = 4400 Wh of energy per day. This should be sufficient to charge your batteries and power your lights for 4 hours per day. Regarding your question about wiring, it's generally better to wire your system in parallel with multiple circuits rather than in series with one big circuit. This will ensure that if one circuit fails, the other circuits can still operate. In your case, I would recommend wiring the batteries and panels in parallel with multiple circuits. For example, you could divide the lights into 5 circuits, each with 10 lights, 1 battery, and 2 panels. This would distribute the load evenly across the batteries and panels and reduce the risk of overloading a single circuit. Regarding your question about the size of the batteries, you could consider using smaller batteries with fewer lights off each, as this would give you more flexibility in terms of the number of circuits and lights you can run. However, keep in mind that smaller batteries may not have the same capacity and lifespan as larger ones. Lastly, I'm not familiar with sources for IP67 RGB LED pond lights other than Amazon. However, you may want to check with local pond or outdoor lighting suppliers in your area, or search for online retailers specializing in pond or outdoor lighting.

[azdave]

Based on the information you provided...

This thread is over 6 years old. I really doubt the OP still needs help with this temporary art installation.

[sdold]

I do this too, I'll be on a forum and search for some topic, see a pretty good thread, add my $0.02 and someone points out that I've just replied to a years-old thread. For some reason I never think to check the dates. Unlike many of my replies, at least NiHaoMike's reply has a lot of useful info that can help others who might stumble onto the thread in a search.

[sdold]

Dave: it turns out that his first forum post was lifted from someone else in a 7-year old Reddit thread. I think the post above and the rest of his stuff is AI-generated.