Solar Powered Coop

[Steadfast]

Recently, I built my own axial wind turbine and solar array to power the workshop in my shed.
I found I am making far to much power and my load dump is having to waste A LOT of it to presearve my batteries. So, I figuired my Birdy Ladies could enjoy the power more than my load dump does. So, I hooked up our Coop to our shed.

HERE is the Process:

Ya gotta have a plan


1st. Bury the electric line from power plant to coop. (AC travels better than DC) I used a tiller to loosen up the ground. And laid out my 50ft pvc incased 12awg wire.

Dig out the 18" trench, bury the pvc sheathed wire, star covering it up.


I discovered that ditch diggers are REAL MEN... Unlike me... but that's fine by me too.



As I was hooking up the electrical outlet boxes inside the chicken coop's shed, I noticed I had spectators staring at me from the pens.


And now the Video of the final electrical improvements...
(Hey, I was tired and got sick of taking pictures)

 

[Steadfast]

If you guys are interested in all the details of how I built
the wind Turbine, Power Plant and Solar Array, here is a link
to the entire build...

As always, as I built it, with mistakes and fixes, with lots of pictures.
(the solar array was made near the end of the thread)

Here is the link:
http://forums.silverseek.com/showthread.php?59626-Im-building-a-Wind-Turbine

 

[KathyJB]

Hey that is super cool! I'm going now to look at your link. We could use something like that at our pasture.

 

[Steadfast]

If you want to power a shed or cabin of the grid you have a few options.

but first you guy must understand the first law of electricity:
"Making electricity is HARD work!"
I had no idea how much i took my power company for granted until I made my own...

ok...
You can use a gas generator: $500-$1000 for a good one
They are cheaper and make much more power per $ than solar.
But they are also super LOUD, hot, eat gasoline, announce their presence and loccation to would be theives whenever they run, and prone to mechanical failiure.

you can go solar: $1000-1800 to build your own power plant.
(yes, you will want to build your own)
Solar is pricy, makes much less power per $ than gas, needs deep cell batteries to store and run energy consistantly, But solar is perfectly silent, hard to steal, never breaks down mechanically, and continues to make free energy for 30 years. and the mere process of building your own power plant is TONES cheaper than buying one prefab, not too difficult to do and will teach you volumes about electricity.

I knew didily squat about electricity when I started.
But I asked lots of questions and did it...

here is a link to my wind and solar project:
http://forums.silverseek.com/showthread.php?59626-Im-building-a-Wind-Turbine

Here is a link to THE PLACE to ask all your solar questions and to get "No BS", REAL, AND FREE ADVICE from the world experts in the solar tech field: (Plus I am there too)
http://www.fieldlines.com/index.php?board=6.0

 

[Steadfast]

Here is a third way to make endless electricity using barnyard animals!
ha ha ha

 

[Steadfast]

Remember, I have the chicken coop powered by my solar/wind array?

I can manually turn on the coop, but I also have to manually turn it off again too.
Well, when working with batteries, which I am, if the power gets used up past a certain point you do extreme damage to them.

So, Leaving the house with the coop on could be very BAD if the it became overcast while I was away with no ability to turn off the coop and over drew the power in the batteries.

So I’ve been thinking about a solution to this for a while now and came up with THIS Idea:

I bought a high quality timer switch on Amazon that would switch off long before I lost to much power...
I removed the old standard power switch and installed this one in it’s place:

$25.00


Product Write Up:
Programmable timer switch turns lights on and off in up to 7 different sequences . Don't come home to a dark house. Program your lights to turn on automatically at specific times with the Aube 7-Day, 40-500W Timer, an attractive Decora-style timer switch that can control incandescent, halogen or fluorescent lighting. Easily record up to seven separate on and off sequences, which can be programmed daily or weekly. Need to find something quickly late at night? No problem: The Aube 7-Day, 40-500W Timer offers a manual override, which enables the load to be turned on and off without affecting the programming. A Decora-style wall plate is sold separately. Mount the Aube 7-Day, 40-500W Timer onto a standard single or multi-gang electrical box. The timer may be used for a single pole, an existing 3-way switch or a new 3-way switch installation. Program the date and time and then your seven on and off sequences, and the Aube 7-Day, 40-500W Timer will make sure your lights are on when you get home after dark. Programs are protected against a power failure by a pre-installed rechargeable battery. Additional features include an LCD that shows the time, day and load status. Sleek design mounts flush with standard decorative wall plate (not included) (Switch also available in Almond)Two-operating modes: manual (conventional on and off switch), automatic Programming: up to 7-programs (7-on and off times) per week. A program can apply to a single day or repeat every day (a program that repeats every day is still considered one-program)Connection: Single pole (2-wire) or multi switch (3-way) (500-Watt maximum and 40-Watt minimum)Dimensions (height by width by depth): 2.7-Inch by 1.8-Inch by 1.6-Inch

Yesterday, I installed the new timer switch...
I set it to start up the coop fans from 11am - 3pm
and then again from 5pm-6pm

I was inside my Teardrop Camper installing some new electrical options (something I could NEVER understand how to do before finishing The wind Turbine Project) and I heard the coop as the auto-switch started up the fans. I thought my wife had come out and turned them on...
She told me "I didn't start them up, they just started up on their own."
I looked at my watch and it was just after 5pm... Excellent!

It should be running automatically, as of 10 minutes ago, as I type...
It is a clear sunny day today.

I will update you guys how it worked out when I get home...

ps:
Just you wait and see what I have in mind to winterize my coop with solar power!