Solar power in MN help

[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!

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Good points @SleepyHollowFnF Lots of folks on solar use RV appliances and parts that are 12v with great success. I've seen some really innovative uses for such on VW camper van conversion sites and tiny home sites. My mind hadn't transposed those ideas to a solar coop design, but now that you've provided the nudge, it's on like Donkey Kong! Oh the possibilities!!

 

[wyoDreamer]

I wouldn't worry too much about heating the entire coop. You just need something to keep the water from freezing. Chickens can survive cold weather as long as they have a draft free coop. But, it has to be a well ventilated coop. Frost bite comes from moisture, so make sure the coop stays dry but not drafty. I had no problems my first winter, but had a problem with frost bite this last winter and believe it was snow blowing into the coop and then melting. My coop is a concrete room that connects the old silo to the barn. Ventilation is a real problem - had to cover most of the window with plastic to keep out the snow because the snow storms were from an odd direction, but now the coop lacks a way to let the moist coop air out... I need to figure that out by winter.

Maybe add a "greenhouse" to the run area - pvc hoops covered with clear plastic will warm up on sunny days and provide a snow free place for them to hang out.