Lighting options for shed with no electrical.

namesray · Jul 8, 2012

just wanted to throw these pictures of that shed i mentioned with the clear panels in the roof. shed is 12 x 30 with 2 clear panels. this picture was taken in afternoon, mostly sunny, with all doors shut, lights off and shed has no windows. the white on the inside of the shed will help too as compared if your walls are dark. but shed still has a lot of light with just those 2 panels.

schmism · Jul 8, 2012

K7LN said:
A word about solar. You set up you solar panels pointing straight south at some optimum angle. We're only a few weeks past the summer solstice. Where is the sun going to be at 6PM or 8PM? If the controller craps out, how much for another?

this is why you include a car battery or 2. you should get a day or 2 constant run time out of the LED lights off the car bat. you use the solar pannels to recharge durring the day.

If the controler craps out you send it back... like any other product under warentee. and if it lasts for 2 ish years you've got your money out of it....

schweizer · Jul 9, 2012

K7LN said:
A word about solar. You set up you solar panels pointing straight south at some optimum angle. We're only a few weeks past the summer solstice. Where is the sun going to be at 6PM or 8PM? If the controller craps out, how much for another?

That's why earlier I recommended a simple deep cycle marine or RV battery. The charge controller is also cheap -- $30. I live off the grid -- solar power really is not a hassle, especially for something small like this.

farm guy · Jul 17, 2012

Hi All

Just my two cents. I put an outside light on my tractor barn/workshop it is a 20 watt LED it puts out 1800 lumens as much as a standard 150 watt flood. This also runs the alarm system for the barn. It pulls 2amps at 12 volts. The battery is a 125 amp hour deep cycle, I know this is over kill, but I plan to put some lights in the barn too. To charge it I have a 20 watt solar cell and a small Morning Star charge controller . My sun light at the barn is average 4 to 5 hours of direct sun a day in the summer. This system works well for me, I use the same system in my buck barn.

boggen · Jul 17, 2012

i have been skiddish of solar power, here in central, IL. mainly due to the winters, when batteries will be the weakest, and the least amount of sun to be had. not to mention batteries freezing solid up in winter.

majority all sheds around here use metal / tin sheets, any were from 2 feet to 4 feet wide, and up to 20 to 30 feet long. you can normally find the pattern these sheets come in at the large local hardware stores. and insert some clear panels for lighting. if not a local company that builds metal shields should be able to get you the correct pattern that will fit the metal / tin sheets you have on the roof.

have the "sky lights" errr clear panels in both sheds here, and make things bright enough to see fairly good. exception in the dark corners. or when ya in your own shadow looking at stuff along the sides.

night time on other hand. is a different story.

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if you are wanting actual power out to the shed, contact your local electrical company, and see if they may make some sort of deal with you. to run regular power poles out to the shed, to set a meter at shed.

along with contacting a couple other electrical companies, to see what it would cost, for owner installed poles for a meter at shed. or like.

some times there are discounts, some times there is not. that can make running regular electrical power a distance a possible running over other off grid options.

meburdick · Jul 17, 2012

boggen said:
i have been skiddish of solar power, here in central, IL. mainly due to the winters, when batteries will be the weakest, and the least amount of sun to be had. not to mention batteries freezing solid up in winter.

Batteries are able to perform perfectly fine in extremely cold weather... CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) on a battery indicates how much energy is available from that battery at a specific (cold) temperature, typically for starting your car. When batteries are not fully charged, they are susceptible to freezing at much "higher" temperatures (a 12 battery that has been discharged to as little as 11 volts will begin to freeze in the mid 20's Farenheit). A fully charged battery will not freeze until it is much colder.

So, the goal here is to be able to capture enough energy from the sun during the day to "top off" the battery before night time and then minimize the amount of draw on the batteries overnight.

Bladehauler · Jul 17, 2012

My thinking is several of these 50 watt 12 volt bulbs, $ 1.50 apiece, 2- 6 volt golf cart batteries,$82 AT SAMS CLUB and a solar panel from northern tools.should be under $400 easy
Satco S5011 - 50 Watt - 12 Volt Light Bulb
NPower 15 Watt Amorphous Solar Panel | Amorphous Solar Panels| Northern Tool + Equipment

boggen · Jul 17, 2012

meburdick said:
Batteries are able to perform perfectly fine in extremely cold weather... CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) on a battery indicates how much energy is available from that battery at a specific (cold) temperature, typically for starting your car. When batteries are not fully charged, they are susceptible to freezing at much "higher" temperatures (a 12 battery that has been discharged to as little as 11 volts will begin to freeze in the mid 20's Farenheit). A fully charged battery will not freeze until it is much colder.

So, the goal here is to be able to capture enough energy from the sun during the day to "top off" the battery before night time and then minimize the amount of draw on the batteries overnight.

problem is winter is when you want the light and will most likely use the lights for a longer period of time. then battery / batteries set discharged during the night when normally that is the coldest time of a 24 hour time frame.

meburdick · Jul 17, 2012

boggen said:
problem is winter is when you want the light and will most likely use the lights for a longer period of time. then battery / batteries set discharged during the night when normally that is the coldest time of a 24 hour time frame.

Very true... Like I said previously, the key is to minimize the draw-down so that usage doesn't leave you below the threshold where it will freeze easily, and then be sure to get it topped right back off when the sun is up again. This might well mean spending more money for lower draw lights, installing more batteries to provide a larger "base" of power, and even installing a cut-off system that will shut everything down once voltage drops to a certain level.

On the other side, there may be a need to for more / larger charging components to ensure that it will a) support a larger battery farm or b) recharge in less time during the winter months.