Solar power for storage shed

[spasm3]

I have a 12x24 building where keep my mowers and outdoor tools. I want to install overhead led or floresent lights. The only other item for power would be a hand grinder which is a 5 amp 4 1/2( 500 watt) inch for sharpening mower blades. I would only use the lights for a few minutes at night to find something or get a tool, i would not work in there at night. I would like to mount a solar panel with a charge controller, to charge a 12v deep cycle battery, which in turn would power an inverter for the lights and outlets. Anyone done this before? how would i connect the charge controller and inverter to the battery? I'm thinking a 1500 watt inverter would be plenty.

Thanks

 

[JTK]

Another option could be a cheap 900-1500w portable generator. A solar cell, deep cycle battery and inverter will add up.

 

[Brybo86]

or a flashlight and just sharpen the mower blades in your garage

 

[oldhp]

If the shed isn't that far away, I would just run a buried 120 volt line and be done with it. A lot cheaper than solar panel, inverter, battery etc. Just me...

 

[JHZR2]

I love the idea, but how much $$$ are you looking at to do the job?

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: oldhp
If the shed isn't that far away, I would just run a buried 120 volt line and be done with it. A lot cheaper than solar panel, inverter, battery etc. Just me...


+2 the newest code is if you bury outdoor rated romex a foot down you put a GFCI on the house end of things and you're good to go.

a foot, you can get some tampers and shovels, pry the sod over a few inches, get 'er done.

Any battery you'd have to maintain every five years or so.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Modified sine wave inverters cause electric motors to run hot.

Pure sine wave inverters are 3 to 10x more expensive for the same wattage.

The Solar charge controller should be programmable. If the battery is being cycled daily, the voltage setpoints are different than if it were not used overnight, 2+ hours at 14.2+ volts when the battery is not discharged the night before will lead to positive plate shedding and extensive water use.(premature battery death)

True 12v deep cycle batteries are rare and 30% more expensive than marine batteries easily obtainable. Marine/RV batteries are hybrid/ dual purpose batteries much closer to starting batteries than real deep cycle, and a starter battery deeply cycled will not last.

So by the time you get and wire up a battery, inverter, solar panel and charge controller you are looking at a considerable investment that could be bypassed by having battery powered angle grinder and a headlamp you take with you from the main house.

Now if you were wanting to keep a 12v compressor fridge in the shed with some frosties, and to power the lights and grinder, then I can help with recommendations, but setting up this system just for the occasional late night lawn mower blade sharpening seems wasteful.

If you are wanting to run a cheaper 120v dorm fridge on an inverter, double the battery capacity and solar panel and get an inverter with a standby feature.

 

[bigt61]

Way, way too much work for your intended purpose. Think of the 100 ways which are cheaper and simpler to do what you want - then pick one of those. I'd go with a nice LED flashlight and call it a day. Or one of those battery powered stick up lights with a pull string.

 

[bvance554]

Originally Posted By: oldhp
If the shed isn't that far away, I would just run a buried 120 volt line and be done with it. A lot cheaper than solar panel, inverter, battery etc. Just me...


But where is the fun in that?! Although I agree it would be too much effort and $ for the limited use you would get from it. It sounds like you may better off with one of those self contained 12v solar lights to install in your shed. And use your grinder in the garage.

 

[spasm3]

I have a large east penn deep cycle battery that i use in my camper. I don't store it in the camper so i was just thinking of a dual purpose way to keep it charged and power the shed. I have seen a few 20w solar kits for around $200, but the inverter is only 100watts.

 

[PandaBear]

You do not need AC if you are just using it for lighting. Get some 12V rated lighting (LED, florescent, automotive headlight, whatever), a 12V battery, and some small solar battery charger that has auto shut off and call it a day.

Or if you want to right something up for cheap, take apart some solar yard light sticks and put their output in serial till they are 12V, then connect them to a 12V battery big enough (auto lead acid battery). You probably won't use enough to drain it if it is only a few mins a day.

 

[Cujet]

I had the thought of using an older computer UPS with the 7AH 12v battery as a power supply for my shed. It will easily produce 400W for a few minutes and the 12v battery can be charged by a tiny solar panel. Since I only use the 11W CFL lights for an hour at a time (once a week) , it would work just fine.

There are some gotcha's with this plan:

1) The UPS must be able to "come on" by a button press, without being plugged in. Some can do this.

2) The battery will probably need to be disconnected from the UPS, as there is likely to be "dark current" when it simply sits, unused and un-plugged.

Both of these items can be achieved by remote switches.

Edit, This type of system could also use a car battery as additional power.