# Need info on stand alone lights



## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

We are building a new house and while I cant afford to put a whole system on solar i would like to have some solar lighting I found some that come with their own solar panels (no price listed have to call) Are these worth it to install? do they have a long life I noticed some people say that some work for only a few months then they get really dim and wont charge anymore. I am open to any suggestions, options, links  yes please, on low cost lighting, we are building earth bermed which will cut up to 80%? of heating/cooling cost. we are also adding skylights and tube lighting, But I still need to see at night


----------



## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm a big fan of 110v wiring for lights. Others here like 12v DC. For my use, I would forget the cheap self powered lights like the ones at Harbor Freight. The cheaper the self powered lights are, the shorter their life. Many times you can just replace the rechargeable battery, and it will last longer. I've never been impressed with them, however. By the time you buy several of them, you could have had a basic solar system purchased.

What I really like for a system, is a simple battery, solar panel, charge controller, and small inverter setup. You can wire up a separate solar lighting circuit that runs on 110v. Use CFLs, or white Christmas tree LEDs. Since you're building, you can run the lighting circuits to a different service panel, or wire up a disconnect/switchover on the solar circuit. When you need solar, you have it. If you want to use regular AC, you can do that as well.

Last winter we ran 110v power to our chicken coop for the lights. It used a 12v timer to turn on power to a small inverter, and the lights were plugged into the inverter. 200' of extension cord reached the coop, so 12v was out, unless I wanted to put the batteries out in the cold by the coop. (done that in the past). The light was a single 8w string of LED icicles. It worked really well to extend the daylight for the chickens. 

Michael


----------



## nadja (May 22, 2011)

I, having lived totally off the grid on solar for over 16 years now, would tell you to not run seperate wiring for different things. You need to build everything the correct way, through in incoming service box. You may not be able to buy solar all at once, most of us cant, however, you can buy a couple of good panels, small charge controller and at least a mod sine wave trace or xantrax inverter and run just about anything in your house on solar. You will never run anything in the way of heating such as an oven , water heater etc on solar unless you have stacks of hundred bills just laying around waiting to be spent. Get into it a little more detailed and we may be able to help you out much more.


----------



## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

artificer~ where would i be able to buy the charge controller and small inverter setup ive seen them in northern tools. or is there a better place?


----------



## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

well I would love to be totally off the grid but unfortunately i dont have any stacks of 100's lying around. So i want to do what i can and really have No place to start as i know very little about solar. sooooo guessing i need an inverter first? a battery?


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

You need to know what the load is going to be, as close as you can figure it FIRST, before you go buying any equipment.


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

themamahen said:


> artificer~ where would i be able to buy the charge controller and small inverter setup ive seen them in northern tools. or is there a better place?


They also have an outlet in Arizona

http://www.sunelec.com/index.php?main_page=systems_off_grid

Or northern Arizona wind and solar

http://www.solar-electric.com/


----------



## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

If you don't mind changing batteries in lights, why not build a charging station for small cells (AA,AAA,C,D) and choose some light fixtures that fit your needs around the house. 

There's a lot of LED fixtures out there that operates on AA cells. Many put off some decent light. (2-4 cells) Charge the cells during the day and use them as needed at nite. Some fixtures could be used for weeks on charged cells depending on how much you use them..

Just a thought..


----------



## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

Thank Wy~ for the link. is this something I could use and would this be all i need plus batteries? if so the price is very reasonable.

http://www.sunelec.com/index.php?main_page=pv_systems&id=1209&type=OFFG


----------



## gwest (Oct 9, 2008)

You can also try www.wholesalesolar.com for panels,inverters etc.


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

themamahen said:


> Thank Wy~ for the link. is this something I could use and would this be all i need plus batteries? if so the price is very reasonable.
> 
> http://www.sunelec.com/index.php?main_page=pv_systems&id=1209&type=OFFG


If all you're looking for is to power lighting then that is way to big. It would be the size for a small to med cabin. For just lighting look at there 200-400watt kits.

at minimum for that system you would also need:

Batteries - I wouldn't get the ones they have listed and get them locally. Also try to keep them down to a single string instead of the 2 strings that they are suggesting. (24V @ 450AH) 

Mounting for the panels - Thin film panels cost higher for mounting because of the size.

Conduit - They supply wiring but not the conduit needed to run from the panels to inside.

Permits - yep, I think even Idaho requires permits for off-grid systems

Someone qualified to install - This I don't know what Idaho's requirements are.

Good luck
WWW


----------

