Solar system for a New Chicken Coop.

[KOelofsen]

Hello Everyone.

I am looking for a bit of advise. I am building a new chicken coop and I would like to have the finished coop running on an automated solar system. I am planing on installing the following for an automated door from Amazon:
1. JVR Smart-Automatic-Chicken-Coop-Door Opener - I am leaning toward this door
2. Automatic-Chicken-Coop-Door-Solar

I am looking at the following solar kits from Tractor Supply:
1. Teknor Apex 50 W Off-Grid Solar Panel Kit
2. Grape Solar 100 W Off-Grid Solar panel kit. - I am leaning towards this one.

Any help and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Yes I will be looking at lights and heating as well that will be connected to a timer linked to the door or a day night sensor and even a thermostat.

 

[Captain13]

So with the JVR, you will still need a battery to power the door. With the 100 watt charger at 12 volts, you will be able to charge the battery at about 8 amps which is more than enough.

The JVR looks like a good choice and it’s a 12 volt system so you are good to go there. I assume it’s a low power requirement no more than 2 amps. At 12 volts that’s 24 watts.

Depending on the heater/light load, you will just have to calculate the watt hours for overnight use to ensure the battery is capable of handling the load.

 

[KOelofsen]

So with the JVR, you will still need a battery to power the door. With the 100 watt charger at 12 volts, you will be able to charge the battery at about 8 amps which is more than enough.

The JVR looks like a good choice and it’s a 12 volt system so you are good to go there. I assume it’s a low power requirement no more than 2 amps. At 12 volts that’s 24 watts.

Depending on the heater/light load, you will just have to calculate the watt hours for overnight use to ensure the battery is capable of handling the load.

Thank you

 

[mowin]

I see your in SC, in your climate chickens don't need heat. I get -10 often with no issues. Ventilation is more important for a happy flock.

 

[Captain13]

You will be fine. Just get a good deep cycle battery. I’m in Georgia but we get to zero here. No -10. We’re not equipped for that. Zero is pretty destructive here. Good luck.

 

[KOelofsen]

Thank you both. This winter we saw a low of between 10 and 15 F. With a lot of ice on the ground. So my thinking is to heat the coop so that the water does not freeze and to continue a healthy egg laying period in the winter

 

[aart]

So my thinking is to heat the coop so that the water does not freeze and to continue a healthy egg laying period in the winter

Heat the waterer, not the whole coop.
Winter laying, after the first winter, takes timed lights.

 

[Mouthpear]

Hello Everyone.

I am looking for a bit of advise. I am building a new chicken coop and I would like to have the finished coop running on an automated solar system. I am planing on installing the following for an automated door from Amazon:
1. JVR Smart-Automatic-Chicken-Coop-Door Opener - I am leaning toward this door
2. Automatic-Chicken-Coop-Door-Solar

I am looking at the following solar kits from Tractor Supply:
1. Teknor Apex 50 W Off-Grid Solar Panel Kit
2. Grape Solar 100 W Off-Grid Solar panel kit. - I am leaning towards this one.

Any help and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Yes I will be looking at lights and heating as well that will be connected to a timer linked to the door or a day night sensor and even a thermostat.

Don't go overboard with heating. Ventilation is key when dealing with low and high temperatures. It is the humidity that gets to them. It causes respiratory problems and frostbite. You want air to flow as far up to the ceiling to pull out that humidity. Drafts that flow across them are the worst.

As to heating water. If you can and have space for it, get at least a 30 gal tank. A small 12v heater element in piping and a water pump to circulate the water. With the use of a thermostat switch and a timer, circulate the water for 10 minutes every hour. Saves battery life.

As to the panels. I say go a big as you can afford. Learn about the use of diodes. Don't go cheap on the wire. Good multi strand copper wire is best (make sure it is copper not copper clad). Well Silver is, yeah I say don't go cheap but don't put yourself in debt either LOL.

Go with a MPPT charge controller. When it comes to charging they make the most out of what the solar panel is putting out. They charge the deep cycle batteries way better. Less energy loss and better heat management.

The 1. Teknor Apex 50 W Off-Grid Solar Panel Kit says it only comes with "a 165-Watt Grape Solar PWM charge controller ". Took a while to find on the product page. Most of the time when they are selling you an MPPT they will mention it several times. Big selling point.

The 2. Grape Solar 100 W Off-Grid Solar panel kit. Doesn't even mation what type it is ", a 40 Amp Grape Solar Comet charge controller," The website says "The Grape Solar COMET 40 Amp PWM Solar Charge controller" $219.99

The MPPT charge controllers cost a bit more but you get more bang for the buck. Better faster charging of the batties and the most out of you solar panels.

**** I am not endorsing this product and have no personal experience with it ****
That being said at that price point $170.95 and being a MPPT it might be worth giving it a look. Notice how when it is a MPPT they will put it right in the product title. It is a selling point. Not that the PWMs are not good but sellers want you to buy due to the package and lower price.

Allto Solar 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel Kit, 100W 12V High Efficiency Monocrystalline Solar Panel + 20A MPPT Charge Controller + Extension Cable for RV, Home, Boat, Marine, Trailer, Off Grid System

Good crimping tools are a must. lose connections are a bad thing. Not saying to by the top of the line tools but at least a meant for such things. Meaning don't just press them in a vise or hammer connectors on.

As for the door. I say make your own. I do like the door you have chosen and the price is ok, but you can make one with a pressure switch for way cheaper. And by DIY you will learn how to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. Just recently uploaded a video for another person on how to make the door go back up and stay there if something obstructs the door.

I have other videos and diagrams on how to make it try several times then stop at the lowest position it can.

Or simple as stop in place as soon as it gets resistance. All done without using a micro controller and having to learn programming.


Lots more but don't want to overload you all at once.

SunSaver 20A 12V Morningstar Solar Charge Controller SS-20A PWM

MHCOZY 4 Channel USB 5V AC/DC 7-32V Smart WiFi Wireless Relay Switch with Bluetooth. Does not have LED sight window holes. I drilled those.

 

[Mouthpear]

 

[BastyPutt]

We have tried the auto openers, but I have ditched them. There isn't too much better in my opinion than walking to the coop in the morning, with hot coffee, and greeting the chickens as they come out - then drink your coffee and watch them for about 15 minutes. Each wI'll have their own morning routine. It's a good boost to your day. Closing the coop is a different story, but that is why we have children

If you do want the auto opener, Amazon has plenty of options that run on double A batteries and last awhile.

We are in central Oregon and average around 20 degree temps December and January, with it routinely getting to -15 and below, and we don't heat. Two reasons:

1. Chickens have a natural cycle. It is proven that lighting in the winter destroys this cycle, and it is my belief that heating does too - rather than having a booming spring lay, they seemed to trickle through the winter and then have a really slow start to spring wirh a heated coop. We freeze dry our eggs and enjoy those in the winter if lay is sparse. I understand that isn't possible for everyone.

2. We keep our remove roosts and and reduce roosting space in the winter, forcing them to huddle up. Between that and a rotating deep litter coop floor, they keep it pretty warm. We do get some frostbite on the combs of new roosters and hens with larger combs, but it is usually only the very tips and we treat that with shea butter until they fall off. After those tips fall off their first year, and I mean the very tips, we don't see any more frostbite the subsequent years with there being no small vulnerable tips. We have never had frost bitten feet or any other cold related ailments.

Feeding corn just before bedtime will also help boost their body temps for the evening. Another task that 10 and 12 year old sons excel at

Something I have always wanted designated power for in the winters is a heated waterer and some motion activated lights. For those two things, the cost and effort would be worth it.