Solar Power in the Chicken House

[Ky Chicken Chic]

Well...was really hoping to learn of a final outcome, but guess not. So basically.....I read this entire thread only to be left as clueless as I was on the first post. I just want the stupid thing to open the chicken door every morning and MAYBE eventually keep the water from freezing. Suppose I'll continue on with my searching mission.

 

[michelsal]

INstead of electricity production, here are lots of ideas for using passive solar to heat water. seems several could be adapted for chicken watering!

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#Animals

 

[michelsal]

This is what I hope to do:


build wooden box to enclose my regular chicken waterer,
paint the outside of waterer black
insulate three inside wall sides with rigid insulation with reflective side of the insulation facing the inside of box.
make the lid/top and one wall of the box out of polycarbonate or glass to collect the solar energy
leave opening for chickens to get to one side (1/3 of rim) of waterer

 

[CutlassL29]

I went through a few pages of this thread (not all 14) and it appears that the OP didn't update their setup or if they were successfull with that venture.
As I am getting ready to venture into raising several chickens, mostly for eggs, I have considered the cold winter months of southern New England. A passive solar air heater ( I built one out of soda/ beer cans that works great!) during the day would help the chickens stay warm. I also have some of the Harbor Freight solar panels (45 watts total) with a 12v deep cycle battery to use to power a 12v auto bulb attached to the water holding tank. More details are in my head on heating the water and have a hard time explaining my ideas in writing sometimes so I hope anyone reading this gets the idea.
Solar and any renewable energies are my latest hobbies.

 

[tam4k9]

I don't even have chickens yet, but I'm having my coop built as I type this. I want to go solar as my chicken coop is going to be 160 ft away from a source of electricity (our house) So, I would like my chickens to be comfortable and lay eggs in the winter. Putting a 15 or 25 watt bulb would be great for them!

I was at harbor freight and saw this little unit. Will something like this work?
http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-panels.html

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Well...was really hoping to learn of a final outcome, but guess not. So basically.....I read this entire thread only to be left as clueless as I was on the first post. I just want the stupid thing to open the chicken door every morning and MAYBE eventually keep the water from freezing. Suppose I'll continue on with my searching mission.

I imagine the OP finally realized it's not cost effective to power heaters with solar electric systems.
The demands are simply too high unless you have a huge battery bank and lots of panels (meaning LOTS of money invested)

Here's an old thread written by someone who KNOWS what's involved:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=554615

Start with Post # 5:

Quote:

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I don't even have chickens yet, but I'm having my coop built as I type this. I want to go solar as my chicken coop is going to be 160 ft away from a source of electricity (our house) So, I would like my chickens to be comfortable and lay eggs in the winter. Putting a 15 or 25 watt bulb would be great for them!

I was at harbor freight and saw this little unit. Will something like this work?
http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-panels.html

A 100 Amp Hour battery will only run that 25 Watt bulb 4 hours on a full charge, but it would take about 8-10 hours to recharge the battery using a 10 amp charger.
You wont get enough sunlight in Winter unless you use multiple batteries and lots of panels

Just one good 100 Amp Hour battery will cost over $100
You'll come out cheaper to run hard wire from the house

 

[cheric]

So did the solar heater work? Would you be willing to make and sell me one? Thanks, Eric

928 301 7536

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

So did the solar heater work? Would you be willing to make and sell me one? Thanks, Eric

928 301 7536

The OP hasn't been here in a year and a half