Solar setup for internal LED panels

L

Lovelock

10 W
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Messages
72
Morning,

I've been in and around electric bikes for around 5 years, built a few, learnt a load about batteries and what is needed etc.

I'm by no means an expert, but can work out the right battery and controller size etc for a certain motor blah blah.

Anyway, the house I've been renovating is an old victorian property with a rear extension which means the dining room is basically in the dark all day and no light.

My plan is to create a faux window / sky lights in the hall way using LED panels (if you've been to Ikea you'll have seen their fake windows) and I would like to use Solar for this.

I'm very up for learning on this subject in terms of what battery, how much power is needed, what size solar panel etc but no idea where to start.

My first question would be; how do I work out what size battery / solar panel do I need to run X amount of LED panels?

My goal is to have them 'always on' so it's just a case of them being on when the sun is out (like windows...) maybe I can skip the battery?
 
I'd not use a battery. I have two 100 watt solar panels. max v around 22v, rated 12v full load. So i'd buy 10-50 of the 3.6v LED's off ebay that are less than $2 for a pack of 10. they sell those "natural color" that cost more, you may want them. i like the cool white better than daylight 8)
then i'd have to wire up an experiment a to match the series connections for less than 22v.
I have 9 in my garage over my car, i like it, but you may want a lens to disperse the light.
read this https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106675
i'd say the 1watt are plenty bright, they need a heat sink too :thumb:
 
I'm going down the same path. I like windows but they are an issue with energy saving. I like the idea of false windows powered by solar during the day if wanted. At night would have a switch to batteries for night light. I'm trying to figure out what the best common DC voltage in a house. Won't get into that here. One would be 5V like phone chargers. I have phones, flash lights and portable eBike lights that charge from 5V. It would be nice to have a 5V USB port in my fake window light.

by Lovelock » May 23 2021 3:38am

Morning,

I've been in and around electric bikes for around 5 years, built a few, learnt a load about batteries and what is needed etc.

I'm by no means an expert, but can work out the right battery and controller size etc for a certain motor blah blah.

Anyway, the house I've been renovating is an old victorian property with a rear extension which means the dining room is basically in the dark all day and no light.

My plan is to create a faux window / sky lights in the hall way using LED panels (if you've been to Ikea you'll have seen their fake windows) and I would like to use Solar for this.

I'm very up for learning on this subject in terms of what battery, how much power is needed, what size solar panel etc but no idea where to start.

My first question would be; how do I work out what size battery / solar panel do I need to run X amount of LED panels?

My goal is to have them 'always on' so it's just a case of them being on when the sun is out (like windows...) maybe I can skip the battery?
Click to expand...
 
First figure out what the power consumption of the LED panels will be. From there, you do an energy budget and decide how many hours you want it to run for a given number of hours of sunlight on the solar panels. You want to avoid fully discharging the battery every day or it won't last long. I kind of like the no battery idea. LEDs run whenever the sun is out and you can always use grid power if you want more light at night.
 
I'm getting into battery backup. Not to cycle the battery's would be a good thing. Solar during the day then power from the AC to DC at night if wanted.

by fechter » Nov 03 2021 8:02am

First figure out what the power consumption of the LED panels will be. From there, you do an energy budget and decide how many hours you want it to run for a given number of hours of sunlight on the solar panels. You want to avoid fully discharging the battery every day or it won't last long. I kind of like the no battery idea. LEDs run whenever the sun is out and you can always use grid power if you want more light at night.
Click to expand...
 
I bought a sense monitor from amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy...ocphy=9031738&hvtargid=pla-431367241364&psc=1

The sending unit goes in your electrical panel. It uses wifi to send info to your phone. It takes a while to identify each of your appliances and so far hasn't figured out my car charging power use, but it's not too expensive and very to install. It is fun and probably useful to see exactly what is going on at different times of the day and night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RustyKipper
    • Like
Ammo box battery with solar charging
Replies
4
Views
734
99t4
9
E
My "Mark 2" solar trailer
2
Replies
39
Views
5,486
EwanC
E
A
project e-trailer w solar charging - electrification phase
Replies
11
Views
1,070
aum
A
C
Chimera”... Antique style E bike build, circa 1915...why and how
Replies
6
Views
972
classicalgas
C
K
Solar recumbent (tandem) trike
Replies
4
Views
1,212
kg6gfq
K
Back
Top