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Remote building lights

H

Hay hay hay

Well-known Member
I have a remote storage building with no electricity.The cost to run electricity to it and pay a minimum monthly meter charge does not make that option feasible.

On occasion, especially in winter when we have 12 hours of darkness, I would like some overhead lights, no need for power for tools, but don't want the bother of starting a generator. (it might get stolen anyhow.

Has anyone used battery powered lights with a solar recharger for this type usage? What are the pitfalls and cost? Have any of you done this successfully?
 
Cost of solar panel chargers has dropped dramatically in the past few years- 12 volt lights, 12 volt battery and the solar panel- certainly feasible electrically- you just need to price the components to see if its worth it. One caution- need bigger wire the further away your lights are from the battery, so keep them as close as possible to the battery. Maybe put solar panel on the roof, in the center, make a platform for the battery up near the peak where the lights will be, to make wire runs as short as possible. Use LED's- much brighter per amp.
 

On a little different setup but I think it would work for you too.
I have a 45 watt solar panel with controller on my motor home.
It's about 3' by 4'. It charges two batteries and I use LED lights that will work very good.
Counting changing all interior lights to LED, I may have $400. invested.
 
Jim and Mike, On a practical basis, on a 110v system I might use 2--100w bulbs for an hour a day, a 3 or 4 times a week.

What kind of LED bulbs, battery(s) and solar panel could supply that much power? Winter mostly?
 
All you need is a little gel cell battery a 5w-15w solar panel and a switch and a couple of lights...less than $100.

We have a solar light on our barn that turns on automatically after dark when it detects motion. Not what you need but it has been working for years, makes a lot of light and cost less than $100.
 
Edd, Perhaps you could run a 110 volt setup by adding a inverter ( Added Cost ) but two 100 watt bulbs is quite a draw. I would stick with 12 volt LEDs.
 
Edd, the problem with solar in central Indiana is during the winter there isn't enough sun light on a good day to keep my solar yard lights on all night. Not to mention, we have about the same number of sunny days as we have cloudy.

When I built my pole barn, I had translucent panels installed at the top. Glad I did. I still use overhead lighting.
I'm a fan of dewalt tools, so for Christmas I got a 30 watt florescent work light powered by 18v battery. I don't use dewalt batteries, instead I like the aftermarket 3000 ma-hr Ni-mh off ebay. Not sure how long it would last on a battery, but it comes in handy for emergency lighting.
Before I would invest in solar cells, I would just buy extra marine batteries, take them home with you and charge them there. If someone stole your genny what's to say they won't take your solar cells and battery?
If I need power, I have 2 RV gennies on wheels. One I have rigged up to pull behind the Kaw mule and the other I pull behind a riding mower. I use electric chainsaws instead of gas ones. Also use gennies for backup power. Multipurpose.
 
A 12 marine battery (could be a used one) and a 12volt, solar battery maintainer, then hook up some LED lights and you got it.

I use a 12volt battery with solar maintainer at my hunting cabin to run the water pump. That battery has sat out on the porch for 4 years with no charge and always is good to go.

Gene
 
I've seen the motion detector LED lights at Costco and Sam's' I assume they are powered by a battery of some kind. Shouldn't be too hard to connect the lights to a battery that is charged by a solar unit, such as is sold by Harbor Freight. HF might even have the LED lights.
 
in my secret mens club cabin in the woods, i have 2 flourescent 12v light fixtures i got from an rv store. have that hooked to a 12v deep cycle battery and a 200 dollar farm and fleet solar charger. works pretty good.
 
OOOPs. I did not explain myself very well. What I meant to say is what size 12v LED lights would be equivalent to a couple 100w 110v bulbs. These 12v lights might be used for one hour or less a night when I am loading hay or hooking up implements.

Excuse my lack of knowledge about how much I need in lumens or candlepower in 12v LED to match the old 100w bulbs. And how much of a solar panel do I need to keep the battery charged for that amount of draw.

Hope I have explained that. I think the solar/battery/LED idea will work but need to know how big to go so I don't have overkill or underkill.
 
Edd, voltage drop is a function of current draw, distance, and wire size. 12 gauge copper wire is about 1.588 ohms per 1000 ft per Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

(Don't forget to account for the return wire resistance.) What is your distance? Could you trench in a #12 2 conductor plus ground direct burial wire. If you are just running a couple light bulbs this should work depending on your distance. Bury 3 conductor wire so you can switch the lights on/off at each end. If you walk this at night you may want to place a few lights along the path. Use Fluorescent or LED lights to keep the amps down. I light my 300 ft driveway with 11 Watt Fluorescents, and they start in Winter in WI.

For a friend I trenched in both power and lighting switching wiring a 1000 ft through a field and then a woods. We buried water line and power at 5 ft deep and light switching and telephone at about 4 ft.

The electrical worked great. Shutting the water off stopping such a long flow of water caused some issues.

Follow your local codes. Maybe low tech. but likely lower cost and maintenance.

Paul
 
I am planning on putting in a solar system this fall for that same reason. Going to buy a small solar charger from HF , use a battery I already have and use 2 or if not enough then 4 LED flood/ driving lights. Will put them on a spring countdown timer switch so cannot forget and leave them on. I don't see needing lights for more than 30 / 40 minutes at a time. Also will have a flashlight handy for use. joe
countdown switch
 
My darling wife recently purchased some 3xD cell battery motion LED lights. 3 of them for about $40. We put these above entry doors on ourshop building. Pretty darn impressive! The brand was Mr. Beams. One might be able to connect these to a larger rechargeable battery. One neat thing I saw was this.....a farm machinery mechanic i know of always has a plain 12 volt battery on back of his service truck. He has it plugged into trailer light plug, appears to always be ready if he needs a battery!
 
100 watt bulb is about 1000 lumens.

That might be 25-30 watts in 12v led work light?

Paul
 
(quoted from post at 17:13:23 11/11/14) Would a gas light be an option?
Click to expand...

worth a look.
I have been in many hunting cabins with camper style gas lights powered off propane grill bottles. work fine.

or, pick up a few of those solar LED security lights.
modify them for an on-off switch. Turn one on til it fades, then the next, etc.
One with the wires hanging down to hook to a big battery you take with you too, if you are going to be there a while.
 
Thanks to all. I appreciate the practical and wide range of information that is freely shared here. You have given me many ideas and I think this project can be tackled. Thanks again, Edd
 
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