solar power

[henni penni]

Just wondering if anyone else is using solar power in their hen house?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

For what purpose?

Other than lighting, it's pretty expensive for the amount of power you get

 

[greenpeeps]

I found a solar powered light designed for sheds on Amazon, That'a what we plan on using in our coop when its complete. Way easier then running electric out there. Sadly I didn't save the page. Sorry

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I use a small solar panel/light kit for my coop. You can see it on my BYC page.

 

[rubyrogue]

Quote:
Where did you get your kit? Do you remember how much it cost?

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I bought mine on clearance from Lowe's for $27. I don't think they have it anymore but they might have something close to it. I found a very similar, if not the exact same set, on Amazon, however it's a little more expensive. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Powered...?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1270486747&sr=1-43

 

[Eggcelent10]

Hi, I'm interested in a solar powered door opener. I have the motor, but need to get a small panel and hook it up. Not sure how to go about this. I posted this on another thread here and got little relevant response.

The motor is the Add-A-Motor AD20. Paid $80.00. Got it here . I haven't received it yet, but I've read they work well. It's specifically designed for coops.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

Alexis.

 

[rubyrogue]

Quote:
I saw those and was wondering about them. do you turn them on and off? I am wanting to extend my visible light time. Do they just always stay on?

 

[hemna]

I had planned on building my own solar panels from cells off of eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/36-NEW-3x6-Sola...ultDomain_0?hash=item20afca2183#ht_5822wt_941

We have pretty good winds at our house, so I had thought of building a small wind turbine to use to power some batteries during the winter. I wanted to put a low power Arduino linux box that would
run my weather station, webcam and heat lamp for the month or so for cold weather in the winter.

My coop build is in progress here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=314803

 

[henni penni]

I love my solar panels. I don't have to worry about digging electric lines and all the stuff that goes with running electricty. Also the solar panels will pay for themselves. I got mine at Harbor Freight for $199. I use it for about everything out there. I keep the radio on for the chicks. (Don't have to worry about a electic bill.)