Winter Lighting

[krowl]

What does everyone use for solar lighting, anything thats been successful? Looking for suggestions for my flock this year...

 

[aart]

What does everyone use for solar lighting, anything thats been successful? Looking for suggestions for my flock this year...

Solar can work IF, you have a panel and battery storage to keep the power consistent, which needs to be calculated regarding your climate.
Chances are you're not gonna find a system 'off the shelf' to do the job.
Must have a timer....consistency of daily duration of lights is most important when using supplemental lighting.

 

[krowl]

Hii!! What would you suggest for lighting? I'm looking to see actual resources that people have used that are guaranteed safe/fire proof, and that have actually worked. I see a lot online where people state what hasn't worked, and I was trying to do solar, as I thought I had seen someone post they had been successful but I was unsure of what they actually used...I didn't use lighting last year, but I would like to this year

 

[electrycmonk]

Hii!! What would you suggest for lighting? I'm looking to see actual resources that people have used that are guaranteed safe/fire proof, and that have actually worked. I see a lot online where people state what hasn't worked, and I was trying to do solar, as I thought I had seen someone post they had been successful but I was unsure of what they actually used...I didn't use lighting last year, but I would like to this year

All the "solar" style lighting we ever tried were the path marker style you stick in the ground or along the driveway..... They hand a couple batteries under the solar panel and never last more than a year.

 

[aart]

I'm looking to see actual resources that people have used that are guaranteed safe/fire proof, and that have actually worked.

I have a metal lamp shade with a white 60W bulb on top of the HC ceiling of coop over the roosts. I use a regular household timer to control when and how long the light is on.
My power source is AC, but wonky so I won't share it here.
Any electrical setup can be 'dangerous'....
....there are no guarantees, unless you hire a reputable electrical contractor.

 

[electrycmonk]

I have a metal lamp shade with a white 60W bulb on top of the HC ceiling of coop over the roosts. I use a regular household timer to control when and how long the light is on.
My power source is AC, but wonky so I won't share it here.
Any electrical setup can be 'dangerous'....
....there are no guarantees, unless you hire a reputable electrical contractor.

Well, even a professional contractor is no guarantee of 100% success... They are human and the parts they install are human designed & built - somewhere else too.

 

[TARDIS37379]

I extend daylight but only by an hour. I have a smart house system that will trigger switches based on the actual sunrise time. I set it to trigger on at sunrise -60 minutes and go off at sunset. I’m on the west side of a mountain so it evens out daylight as the sun has to rise up enough to shine on the mountain.
I do run cameras in every coop and they have infrared lights but the chickens cannot seer tgat light spectrum.
My biggest reason to light the coops is to even out their lighting and to allow them some time to stir before the door trigger open at sunrise.
I run an enclosed set of LED lights in the big coop and LED lamps that I can dim. I never use incandescent or fluorescent lamps.
To answer the question that is always asked: Yes, there is dedicated Wi-Fi for the coops. No, none of the chickens have an Apple Watch.

 

[TARDIS37379]

I have a metal lamp shade with a white 60W bulb on top of the HC ceiling of coop over the roosts. I use a regular household timer to control when and how long the light is on.
My power source is AC, but wonky so I won't share it here.
Any electrical setup can be 'dangerous'....
....there are no guarantees, unless you hire a reputable electrical contractor.

I’ve been an electrician for 40 years and by far the worst homemade electric systems have been agricultural.

 

[aart]

Well, even a professional contractor is no guarantee of 100% success... They are human and the parts they install are human designed & built - somewhere else too.

No, but they may well be legally liable.

 

[krowl]

All the "solar" style lighting we ever tried were the path marker style you stick in the ground or along the driveway..... They hand a couple batteries under the solar panel and never last more than a year.

Good to know, I appreciate the feedback!!!