Solar power in MN help

[RHChicks]

Anyone use solar power to have lights, heat lamp, fan and door for their coop and run? I have no idea where to start in looking into what i would need. Was going to run power from our house but that is out of the budget right now. Was told it would be around $1300 to run a line out there. Any info would be great!

 

[PD-Riverman]

You are right I would not have the chicks in the coop so they would be in the house. I am going to insulate our coop but was thinking I may still need a heat source. I have seen the heat panels but wasn't sure about them either.

The coop is going to be about 120 ft from the house. If it was just for the coop it would not be that expensive but within 2 years we are building a large garage and need power for that and we need a new service for that. Once the garage is serviced then I will have plenty of power but need something to fill the gap. That's why I thought solar.

At only 120ft You have no problem. I run 175 ft by using a roll of under ground type 10-2 with ground in the air. Used it for years with no problem. Then I decided I needed more power and run 200ft of number 1 tri-plex from a box under my meter at my home---underground---to that building which only cost between $200 to $300. I use a 220/240 volt saw and electric welder and other 120 volt equipment. Its been hooked up now for about 20 years----no extra meter----just one electric bill. I personally did not want to go to the expense of a "service", inspection, etc, etc just to power it.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

For coop heat, you might not have considered passive solar or heat sinks? Do some research on those. I've used both methods in different applications for decades, since before active solar (panels, batteries, converters) was available to the average Joe. It's old school for sure, but it darn well works.

Best of luck to you! It's a wonderful adventure if you take it in small steps. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by taking in the big picture or the whole list of tasks too often. Try not to take on too many projects or too many goals at once. Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from finishing one project at a time. You got this!

 

[RHChicks]

At only 120ft You have no problem. I run 175 ft by using a roll of under ground type 10-2 with ground in the air. Used it for years with no problem. Then I decided I needed more power and run 200ft of number 1 tri-plex from a box under my meter at my home---underground---to that building which only cost between $200 to $300. I use a 220/240 volt saw and electric welder and other 120 volt equipment. Its been hooked up now for about 20 years----no extra meter----just one electric bill. I personally did not want to go to the expense of a "service", inspection, etc, etc just to power it.

I will have to look into doing what you did. Thanks!!!

 

[PD-Riverman]

You Throwed Solar out when you said Heat. Solar and Heat does not go together as far as solar panels that produce electricity/voltage. If you were going to run a heat lamp It would cost you Mega Dollars for batteries and panels. I have a large array of solar panels where my chickens are at---about 1/2 mile from my home----that runs my water pump and other things I might need some electricity for, BUT all my incubators, brooders---thinks like that are at my home----once the chicks get off the heat I move them to the "back".

 

[RHChicks]

You are right I would not have the chicks in the coop so they would be in the house. I am going to insulate our coop but was thinking I may still need a heat source. I have seen the heat panels but wasn't sure about them either.

The coop is going to be about 120 ft from the house. If it was just for the coop it would not be that expensive but within 2 years we are building a large garage and need power for that and we need a new service for that. Once the garage is serviced then I will have plenty of power but need something to fill the gap. That's why I thought solar.

 

[RHChicks]

For coop heat, you might not have considered passive solar or heat sinks? Do some research on those. I've used both methods in different applications for decades, since before active solar (panels, batteries, converters) was available to the average Joe. It's old school for sure, but it darn well works.

Best of luck to you! It's a wonderful adventure if you take it in small steps. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by taking in the big picture or the whole list of tasks too often. Try not to take on too many projects or too many goals at once. Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from finishing one project at a time. You got this!

Thanks. I will look into those. Yes baby steps for sure!!

 

[abraga]

Anyone use solar power to have lights, heat lamp, fan and door for their coop and run? I have no idea where to start in looking into what i would need. Was going to run power from our house but that is out of the budget right now. Was told it would be around $1300 to run a line out there. Any info would be great!

I just invested in a kit...cant wait to set if up...heres the set up I'll do> solar panels hooked to controller hooked to marine battery hooked to converter w/outlets. There r tons of quickie how to on utube. If u add a nice big marine battery..the solar panels will charge the battery..this way u will have available power supply after the sun goes down. Theres a kit sold by harbor freight that is popular for beginners. Solar kits are also sold by Amazon, eBay, etc. You will still need to buy a marine battery and converter.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I just invested in a kit...cant wait to set if up...heres the set up I'll do> solar panels hooked to controller hooked to marine battery hooked to converter w/outlets. There r tons of quickie how to on utube. If u add a nice big marine battery..the solar panels will charge the battery..this way u will have available power supply after the sun goes down. Theres a kit sold by harbor freight that is popular for beginners. Solar kits are also sold by Amazon, eBay, etc. You will still need to buy a marine battery and converter.

They are not hard to hook up but small set-ups will work for a light on every now and then, but not for heat---all night long. I bought a 45 watt Harbor freight kit----built a timer so the lights(that come with the kit) came on about 3ish in the mornings and the automatic door opens a few minutes later----worked good. But not Heat/not even a 60 watt incandescent bulb would run off this set-up all night with 2 big batteries. Now I have about 2200 watt of solar panels on a array with 8 golf-cart batteries and I would not count on it keeping a good size heat lamp going(because of the cloudy days) with my chicks life.

 

[SleepyHollowFnF]

You are right I would not have the chicks in the coop so they would be in the house. I am going to insulate our coop but was thinking I may still need a heat source. I have seen the heat panels but wasn't sure about them either.

The coop is going to be about 120 ft from the house. If it was just for the coop it would not be that expensive but within 2 years we are building a large garage and need power for that and we need a new service for that. Once the garage is serviced then I will have plenty of power but need something to fill the gap. That's why I thought solar.

Hey, I've got some suggestions for you on insulation as well as heat and solar. I've got all of those going.

So I'm a scavenger so I get everything dirt cheap or free. For insulation they have a foil coated bubble wrap that reflects heat marvelously. You can buy it, but I find large amounts of it in the pet smart dumpster every week.

For fans. I like to use computer fans when working with solar. They are very often 12v and you can find them in broken desktops, or buy them new if you so desire.

For heat, thats a little tough because those lights are often 250W which is a lot to ask for out of a small solar array. You could consider alternative means of heating though. I'm sure there are seat warmers or heat blankets that might do the job and possibly run off of 12v. I'd imagine they have a lower wattage than a heat lamp but I am guessing on that.

For lights, 12v lights are easy to find in home depot or other such stores, I use old headlights from cars which throw out a lot of light, are usually free or close to it, but have a drawback in being high energy consumption

For an easy off grid setup I'd look on craigslist for 12v panels and batteries.

You need panels, a charge controller to regulate power to the batteries, your batteries, and 12v outlets.

The way I've done it and find easiest is to wire all my stuff directly to the battery, but there are nicer ways you can do it. That's your call. Some folks like to use an inverter to convert 12v to 120v (house voltage) but personally I don't bother due to the abundance of 12v appliances out there for car and RV needs.

Good luck!