Solar Power for Outbuilding

[Tylerjames6703]

I have a small (12 x 10) portable building behind my house. I use it to store my tools and fishing stuff mainly. I do some occasional woodworking out of it when the weather is below 80 (about 3-4 months a year). I was wondering if solar power would be useful to run lights and charge the batteries in some of the hand tools. Has anyone done something similar?

[briarpatch]

I have seen it done and it worked well.

[Bugflipper]

I wouldn't think you would need very much for a 12x10 for lights. Perhaps a single 12v led light with e-26 screw in base on the ceiling. To put detail on what you are working on you could get a 12v flexible goose neck lamp and run an led bulb in it as well. That could be handled by a 15 watt panel and a 12v battery for 24 hour a day lights. If you are just out there 8 hours or less you could probably get by with a 5w panel with a battery. That would probably run $150 or less for the wire, battery, lights, fixture lamp and panel.
It depends how much of a draw the chargers are and how long it takes to charge them. You may get by charging the batteries one at a time off a little inverter and a 10-15 watt panel. If they are quick charge you would probably need a 45 watt panel to charge them in AC, they are about $100, so $50 more than a 15 watt. You would use less watts to power the chargers with 12v instead of converting 12v to 110 then back to 12v. If able to run a 12v plug to them you could stick with the cheaper 10-15 watt panel. Or charge multiple batteries at the same time and allow them to trickle charge constantly with a 45 watt. 1 amp at 12v equals 12 watts. 1 amp at 120v equals 120 watts. Plus you have to power an inverter if you charge with AC. In other words charging in AC will put a lot of strain on a single battery and may need until the following afternoon to recoup the previous days loss.

[Tylerjames6703]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. This will be one of my winter weekend projects in the near future.

[Empty Quiver]

 
 
Dad has the same sort of building and similar use to you. He has the place wired up and then uses a drop cord out there. It is basically a shore power system. When he gets done he rolls up the cord and stores it away for future use.
 
If distance is a problem I like Bugflippers solution.

[tomtomz]

My Dad had something off a Model T ford which rectified the AC into DC internally in the days before alternator driven cars.

I can't remember the word he had for it, but a lot of them were converted to windmills that charged batteries and
got them through the Great Depression with DC lights.

That was before rural America was electrified after WWII.


You had it right. The magneto is AC. A bridged rectifier with one drop makes it 6v dc. 2 drops makes it 12v. Some folks call them diode rectifiers. The magneto has about 3 amps to spare at high speed so they are usually used with a battery as a charger. They make alternators for them now in 12v so not that many people use the rectifiers anymore. They were better than the factory oil lamps though. 

Help me out here if you can, my description is very sketchy.

[FPH]

 
Dad has the same sort of building and similar use to you. He has the place wired up and then uses a drop cord out there. It is basically a shore power system. When he gets done he rolls up the cord and stores it away for future use.
 
If distance is a problem I like Bugflippers solution.

I would say the above is your best option, otherwise you will most likely find electrical "storage" to be your biggest challenge.

[Rex in OTZ]

I remember  quite a few outbuildings around farms use skylights, its cheaper than running power out to them.

[charles p]

I've seen them also, but it is hard to imagine owning a bard that large without needing electical service and lighting at night.  If you are preparing for an electrical outage, that's fine, but don't think that you will never need electricity in your barn.

[RemingtonMagnum]

Where can I get a 45W solar for $100???  Don Jackson Remington Magnum/Ultramag
 
 
 

I wouldn't think you would need very much for a 12x10 for lights. Perhaps a single 12v led light with e-26 screw in base on the ceiling. To put detail on what you are working on you could get a 12v flexible goose neck lamp and run an led bulb in it as well. That could be handled by a 15 watt panel and a 12v battery for 24 hour a day lights. If you are just out there 8 hours or less you could probably get by with a 5w panel with a battery. That would probably run $150 or less for the wire, battery, lights, fixture lamp and panel.
It depends how much of a draw the chargers are and how long it takes to charge them. You may get by charging the batteries one at a time off a little inverter and a 10-15 watt panel. If they are quick charge you would probably need a 45 watt panel to charge them in AC, they are about $100, so $50 more than a 15 watt. You would use less watts to power the chargers with 12v instead of converting 12v to 110 then back to 12v. If able to run a 12v plug to them you could stick with the cheaper 10-15 watt panel. Or charge multiple batteries at the same time and allow them to trickle charge constantly with a 45 watt. 1 amp at 12v equals 12 watts. 1 amp at 120v equals 120 watts. Plus you have to power an inverter if you charge with AC. In other words charging in AC will put a lot of strain on a single battery and may need until the following afternoon to recoup the previous days loss.

[Bugflipper]

Here you go Don.

45 watt for $85.
 www.amazon.com/dp/B007YT829G/ref=asc_df_B007YT829G2563056?smid=A7GV2EBJR2YPZ&tag=sdcbing591-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395129&creativeASIN=B007YT829G

80 watt for $109.
www.ebay.com/itm/WSolar-80-Watt-Solar-Panel-12V-80W-/140977109022?pt=CPUs&hash=item20d2e3f81e

I couldn't find it because I'm using a new browser but there is a web page out there that let's you find the cheapest prices on solar panels. I just went to ebay and amazon because they usually have some cheap prices and a 30 day return.
Have a good day.

[Lloyd Smale]

did that when i built my barn. Helps alot in the daytime. Its plenty bright without lights but lights still are needed for the night.

I remember  quite a few outbuildings around farms use skylights, its cheaper than running power out to them.

[RemingtonMagnum]

Thanks so much Don