I built a shed out back and I would like to install a solar panel to power a small light inside and outside of the shed. Or maybe just the inside. Does anyone have any advice and suggestions?
I’m confused now
Well, i plan on just using it when i go out to the shed and need a little light on to see inside at night.
Wow, so many great answers!
You want to use as little power as possible, so do not use a regular incandescent light bulb. Most of their electricity is used for heat, not light. Use a CFL (twirly bulb) or LED bulb. You can get them in DC power, so you don’t need to convert the DC power (like a battery) to AC power (like what you plug into your wall outlet). They are more expensive, but will save you a lot of money in the long run.
How many hours a day would the light be on? Let’s do the math with 1 hour, you can multiply it by how ever many hours you need it.
15 watts x 1 hour = 15watt hours (wh). (If it’s 2 hours, that’s 30wh) Take that number and put it in a solar calculator like http://www.altestore.com/store/calculators/off_grid_calculator/. It asks how many days you want to store in case you have no sun, how cold it gets there, and how many volts. That will tell you how big of a battery. 2 days, really cold, 12V, you’ll need a 10ah battery, that’s really small.
Then it will ask where are you, to decide what size solar panel you need. Here in Boston, I need a 5W panel.
To make sure the battery doesn’t get over charged, you should use a charge controller.
15W DC CFL Light bulb (equal to 100W incandescent) – http://www.altestore.com/store/Lighting-Fans/Compact-Fluorescent/Compact-Fluorescent-Dc/Phocos-CL1215W-12V-15-W-Warm-CFL-Lamp/p1007/
6W 12V panel – http://www.altestore.com/store/solar-Panels/1-to-50-Watt-Solar-Panels/Sunwize-SC6-12V-6-Watt-12-Volt-SolCharger/p4218/
12V 12ah battery – http://www.altestore.com/store/Deep-Cycle-Batteries/Batteries-Sealed-Agm/Universal-UB12120-12V-12AH-20HR-Sealed-AGM/p1996/
4.5A 12V charge controller – http://www.altestore.com/store/Charge-Controllers/Solar-Charge-Controllers/PWM-Type-Solar-Charge-Controllers/Morningstar-Charge-Controllers-PWM/Morningstar-Sunguard-45A-12V-Pwm-Charge-Cntrlr/p793/
Or buy one already made with solar, lights, and batteries built in – http://www.altestore.com/store/Lighting-Fans/Outdoor-Lighting/Sunwize-Solar-Outbuilding-Light-System-10-Watt/p4644/