Solar Power in the Chicken House

[Intheswamp]

Scott, it looks like you've looked into this a bit. Here is some food for thought(s).....

Figure in the losses of the inverter, cables, connections, etc.,...knock down the watt-rating of the panel by, say, 20%.

Don't forget to size your battery for reserve power for ever how many sunless days you want to prepare for.

After drawing power from the battery overnight the battery will need recharging...will the 20w panel be able to charge the battery *and* power the heater at the same time?

Being as most aquariums are in a climate controlled building, most aquarium heaters are meant to bring the water temperature up a certain number of degrees rather than to a specific temperature. Here's a little chart I found....Aquarium Heater Watt Chart You can see here what wattage heater you might need according to your waterer size and how much rise in temperature you need.

Remember, you need good, unobstructed sunshine.
Best wishes!!!
Ed

 

[Scott]

Quote:
That is a handy chart. When it comes down to it... I'm going to experiment until I can make this work. I believe the 20 watt panel with battery would be sufficient to run the 7.5watt aquarium heater. As long as it runs, it will keep water around that heater and perhaps the entire galvanized waterer unfrozen. If it doesn't, I go for a 40 or 60 watt panel. I'll ditch the inverter if need be to conserve energy and go with a dc diode to heat the water if I have to. The thing is... I know it is possible.. it just cost a bit more than I might like to spend, but I am determined to eliminate this empty frozen/refill with warm water everyday when its really cold. Obviously, I'm off grid or I'd just run an extension cord down there. I may also invest in insulating the chicken house this spring. But I really do want my chicken house to be solar powered in a usable way in the near future. I've considered off and on for years, but now I'm sure about it. I've got the solar panel and solar controller ordered. Like I said, if need be I go for a much larger solar panel.

Thanks for posting the link to the aquarium heater chart. Its useful.

 

[CityChicker]

This is an awesome idea, Scott. Definitely, keep us updated on what works for you. I have thought about trying something similar, especially since I live in one of the sunniest places in the US. We do have several pre-made solar lights and they work wonderfully here. When we looked at new lights last year, most of them were 1 or 2 watt. The ones we ended up getting were 4 watt, but they were the only ones we saw in that size. They rest were much lower. What you are looking to power is not much greater wattage wise, so I don't see why you couldn't do it pretty easily since you know the process of putting a system together and the heater is so low wattage.

I hope it works for you. Frozen water is the bane of my existence. I have *never* in my life had to deal with hauling buckets of water before this year. It is just a nightmare sometimes when there is a lot of snow. I have never lived anywhere previously where we didn't have frost-free hydrants around the property. Not having immediate access to running water is frustrating to say the least!

 

[rosco]

can you post a photo?

ah, i've fly fished almost every mile of the white river. you're lucky to be in the ozarks! i got nothing here but dirt and sky

 

[2txmedics]

wow, this sounds awesome, I also dont have electricity out in my coops area...I would love to get something like this but Im a visual person I need how to pictures...sorry, lol, ....I know in summer it gets hot also, and want to add a few fans last yr I did misters and water bottels frozen and thrown in there waterers....

any idea where I can find pictures of this solar thing your speaking of? thanks!!!

 

[Hen_House_Rocks!]

Scott, Sounds like it should work. Please keep us posted.

 

[bigjohn]

I purchased a 10 watt solar panel with attic type fan to keep my small building cooler in the summer for my quail. It did a great job last summer. When the sun was out and burning down, that little fan ran with all of it's might. When it got cooler later in the day, the fan gradually gave out. Just right for my situation. Of course, adding batteries and the like would have been better, but it was my first little experiment with solar.

 

[Scott]

Quote:
I plan on using something similar with my solar set up in the summer.

 

[goodegg2010]

Hi Scott,

I have also thought of keeping my coop powered by solar. Another suggestion is to keep the entire system DC and 12V. Then you could consider running it all like an RV and use RV lighting and other RV electrical supplies. I don't know if you kept it DC if there is a heat source available but I would think so. If you had to run part of it on an inverter, it seems that running it off a cheap unit designed for plugging into a car 12V outlet might be able to provide enough 120V power for the water and then let the sun recharge one or two deep cycles during the day.

I am very new to this and trying to absorb as much as possible so I will definitely be following your progress. Good luck.

 

[Scott]

Quote:
I'd like to keep it DC as well, as the inverter might zap a bit of the power... the only thing is I dont think you can buy a mini DC aquarium heater like the one linked to above. I think I will have to have a DC to AC inverter for that.