Battery- and solar-powered LEDs

[YYZ Skinhead]

You know those ropes and strings of solar-powered LEDs that they sell on eBarf and Amazon? Are they useful for keeping a greenhouse lit for 12 hours? I am referring to both the cool white and the red/blue ones. There are single cool white LED bulbs as well and battery-powered lights. I am asking because I am afraid to run a light in a greenhouse that requires a remote electrical source, i.e., a 430 watt Agro HPS with a ballast and a long cord plugged into my garage.

 

[stinkyattic]

Never seen any even close to the lumens you need for anything beyond not tripping in the dark. But if you need to set up solar for your ag lighting yes it can be done, you're just going to need a real photovoltaic array and some big ol storage cells and an inverter/charge controller to handle the whole thing.

 

[thegloman]

 

[AladinSane]

Never seen any even close to the lumens you need for anything beyond not tripping in the dark. But if you need to set up solar for your ag lighting yes it can be done, you're just going to need a real photovoltaic array and some big ol storage cells and an inverter/charge controller to handle the whole thing.

Sounds like you know something about this. Would be quite expensive to do as good LED's are not cheap. Have used LED's for the last 9 years and have built 4 for my little indoor garden. LED's have come a long ways in that time. Ones I built are all white.

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

Never seen any even close to the lumens you need for anything beyond not tripping in the dark. But if you need to set up solar for your ag lighting yes it can be done, you're just going to need a real photovoltaic array and some big ol storage cells and an inverter/charge controller to handle the whole thing.

I had a feeling that it would be complicated and pricey. I want to go completely solar eventually, though.

 

[stinkyattic]

I had a feeling that it would be complicated and pricey. I want to go completely solar eventually, though.

It's a major initial investment but if you do it right, including taking advantage of state or local efficiency rebates, it's an actual INVESTMENT. Find out before you start if your regional utility allows buyback of surplus juice, like, essentially running your meter backwards when you produce more than you use. Some do, some dont. The Big important thing is that if you're powering into your house system there needs to be a mechanism in place to protect the Sparkys if they have to do pole work at your hookup.

 

[JimmyNuggs]

Did a little research into this recently, for uk market, but it looked about £1500 ish for a 1000 kwh system solar cells, controlers, inverters etc)
Would pay for itself in about 18 months a little higher kwh and you could make money (national grid here buys any spare)

 

[Daxtell]

There are inefficiency losses from each energy conversion and transaction. A small greenhouse with some plants in the center and kept low to blend in would offer a better return on your investments. I'm not against solar, very much for it, but not in this one instance of converting sunlight to energy to convert back into light does not work well. I am an un-pensioned pensioner and watch my cash flow. Your liters per kilometers may vary.

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

It's a major initial investment but if you do it right, including taking advantage of state or local efficiency rebates, it's an actual INVESTMENT. Find out before you start if your regional utility allows buyback of surplus juice, like, essentially running your meter backwards when you produce more than you use. Some do, some dont. The Big important thing is that if you're powering into your house system there needs to be a mechanism in place to protect the Sparkys if they have to do pole work at your hookup.

I own an outbuilding with which I have no idea what to do. I have been thinking of turning it into a storage room for solar batteries. I gotta get financing to cover all of my roofs (there are four) with solar paneling. It's a big initial investment, but as you said it is an investment, and a worthy one in the long run.

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

Here is an example of the lights at which I have been looking. I was thinking of buying two kits for each 10 x 10 greenhouse.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Outdoor-Fl...4d80120f47:m:mfL3Z8KMXRmQqU1XcxgezXA&LH_BIN=1

 

[HerbWatcher]

Hey what's up YYZ.
I use some of those solar lights you are looking at. But I use them outside around my house. After the sun goes down, they only last about 4-5 hours.
I do use solar power to power my clone and mother room. I use 8, t12s in that room, so about 680 watt's.
I have 6, 100 watt panels on the roof of that room going to a charge controller, that charge 14, 100 amp hour batteries. Then those are connected to a inverter to convert the dc to ac. Then the lights are plugged into the inverter.
I have to run all this during the day, obviously. But this setup will still produce the amount of power i need after the sun goes down to give me the 18 hours of light i want for that room.
Now like someone stated in regards to power reduction do to the amount of connections and the gage and how long your wires are, is very true.
So its important to take all that into consideration when building a system.
But this is easy to resolve just by keeping everything has close as possible to where you want the power to go..
Oh I screwed up when I said that the panels went to the charge controller. The panels go to a breaker box then to the charge controller.
I have been using this setup for 6 years now with no problems. It paid for itself the first year, easy.
I couldn't be more happier.
Anyway I don't believe you will be happy with the lights you are looking at. But you never know, this is just my opinion.
Good luck on what ever you decide.
Take care man,..............

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

Hey what's up YYZ.
I use some of those solar lights you are looking at. But I use them outside around my house. After the sun goes down, they only last about 4-5 hours.
I do use solar power to power my clone and mother room. I use 8, t12s in that room, so about 680 watt's.
I have 6, 100 watt panels on the roof of that room going to a charge controller, that charge 14, 100 amp hour batteries. Then those are connected to a inverter to convert the dc to ac. Then the lights are plugged into the inverter.
I have to run all this during the day, obviously. But this setup will still produce the amount of power i need after the sun goes down to give me the 18 hours of light i want for that room.
Now like someone stated in regards to power reduction do to the amount of connections and the gage and how long your wires are, is very true.
So its important to take all that into consideration when building a system.
But this is easy to resolve just by keeping everything has close as possible to where you want the power to go..
Oh I screwed up when I said that the panels went to the charge controller. The panels go to a breaker box then to the charge controller.
I have been using this setup for 6 years now with no problems. It paid for itself the first year, easy.
I couldn't be more happier.
Anyway I don't believe you will be happy with the lights you are looking at. But you never know, this is just my opinion.
Good luck on what ever you decide.
Take care man,..............

Greets HerbWatcher,
I browsed some more solar lights yesterday and I concur. Looking at the specifications I dunno if that light source (150 watts at most) would be sufficiently strong to use by itself. I want to show this thread to my electrician, because he does all sorts of wiring including solar.

OK, a battery: is there a battery I can use to power a 430 watt Agro HPS at night? Do I need something bigger than a 250 watt bulb to keep the greenhouse lit, dusk to dawn?

I have two Agro HPS lights and one 400 HPS all of which have long cords attached to a ballast, attached to another long plug-in cord. Plugging them into a house current would be the obvious thing to do, but I am afraid to run them from an indoor plug to the greenhouse because RAIN.

 

[stinkyattic]

Yyz- time to have a line run to the greenhouse off your main panel. Trench-and-conduit or a pole, whatever the codes are in your area and works for your property. Then you've got a greenhouse outlet and rain becomes a n0n issue. The limiting factor is load capacity of the wiring. LED panels give you more light for the same draw or same light for less draw... food for thought. Loved growing under HPS but it is limited by how much juice they can pull on one circuit and also staggering the startup surges of multiple units on one breaker.

 

[HerbWatcher]

That's great advice Stinkyattic.
It just happens that I'm in the process of building a greenhouse next to my garage.
My garage has 4 lines running from the breaker box. But one line only has one plug on it. So im going to splice into that and dig a trench ( it's only like 4 feet) to the greenhouse. Then I'm going to hook that line to a gfi plug and run 4 more plugs off of that just for some added protection.
But I'm not going to be running any lights, just fans.
But YYZ in regards to batteries.
If you can go to the site for a company called Renogy. They are in California.
This is who I buy my solar panels from. They have tools on their site to help you figure out what you need to build a solar system.
The tools are very easy to use and you can learn how a solar system really works.
Like i said i only bought my solar panels from them. Fair prices.
But I didn't like any of their charge controllers or inverters. Because they didn't offer any with displays.
I wanted displays on mine so i know what's going on.
Check that site out,it will teach you alot. It's all fairly easy. Just commen sence.
Take care man........

 

[HerbWatcher]

Oh I forgot something YYZ.
Is this a greenhouse or a shed you want to grow in?
Why do you want to run your lights all night?
Later....

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

Big props for all the info, people. Stinkyattic, I shall tell my electrician what I want done according to this thread because he is very fond of grass as well. HerbWatcher, I am using a metal canopy tent skeleton with heavy plastic walls. I want to light it 24/7 because when I grew indoors I had the light/s on continuously. I am just used to 24-hour lighting, which may not make as big a difference in a greenhouse.

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

HerbWatcher, I have been checking out Renogy's site and the panels they have on Amazon. Are different brands compatible with each other? E.g., can Renogy's panels be used with a different brand of inverter?

Here is a Renogy starter kit on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BFCNFRM/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[novitius]

This is slightly off center but don't forget the rollover roof. Save your escaping light and stop pollution

 

[darrell1NP]

You know those ropes and strings of solar-powered LEDs that they sell on eBarf and Amazon? Are they useful for keeping a greenhouse lit for 12 hours? I am referring to both the cool white and the red/blue ones. There are single cool white LED bulbs as well and battery-powered lights. I am asking because I am afraid to run a light in a greenhouse that requires a remote electrical source, i.e., a 430 watt Agro HPS with a ballast and a long cord plugged into my garage.

Was is hard to install all of that?

 

[YYZ Skinhead]

Was is hard to install all of that?

I haven't done it as of now. I have most of the gear, but I am waiting till all my beans arrive to build the greenhouse because I want to start all of them simultaneously. I shall keep all you folks posted.