Alternative power source for chicken houses,???

Solar doesn't work here in the Pacific NW very well. We tried a solar gate opener and it failed. I would personally stay away from solar as you are even further north.

I have read that some of those windmills freeze in the winter and don't work so investigate carefully.

Frankly I'd just put a cheap woodstove in your coop if you are concerned, if you can do it safely without fire hazards and the coop/barn is large enough. Like a shop stove. And put a battery-powered light.

Woodstoves are amazing.

Just my opinion!!!

 

I have a small solar power setup (more like a "science project", really). I am not using it for coop power, although I guess I could as it is literally right next to where I am building my coop. There are some small PV panels that provide about 115 watts at 12V in full sun. I bought these on eBay. Some were used but still provide 90% of the output they did when new.

The panels are connected to a 30A charge controller, a single deep cycle battery and a 700W inverter to provide 120VAC. I set this up to provide some backup power during outages for charging phones, running laptop computers, etc. It has run 2 laptops, a DSL modem, phone chargers and a couple of lights for 8+ hours without draining the battery.

At 750W output, it is not going to run a heater, pump, or anything requiring a high starting current, but it is useful for what it is. Adding more panels and batteries along with a larger inverter would increase the utility.